Children of Sarjalim
by Angela Pirate Ryoko
Summary: A year after the anime, Issei gets a telepathic message from an old friend. Could there have been survivors from the home planet? Reposted with new formatting.
1. Chapter 1

THE CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Author's note:** When I wrote this story, I had limited knowledge of the manga, as it had not yet been translated into English and I was unable to find adequate translations for my Japanese _tankoubon._ Because of this, my story is based mostly on the animated OAV, and takes place about a year after Rin's adventure at the Tokyo Tower. I've done my best to keep them in character, which was particularly tricky given some of the situations. You'll meet some new characters, whom I've given flower names, in Hiwatari's tradition.

Nadeshiko dianthus (fascination/womanly love)

Ayame iris (faith/wisdom/hope)

Hinagiku daisy (innocence/ purity)

Kiku chrysanthemum (slighted love/truth)

I hope you enjoy my story.

----

Monday, Day One 

_Enju . . . we are coming . . . watch for us . . . . _

Issei woke slowly, his dream fading even as his eyes fluttered open. "Nadeshiko?" he whispered groggily, rubbing his forehead with one hand. Sunlight streaming through the cracks of his blinds washed out the last memory, leaving him with just the name. "Nadeshiko," he repeated, shaking his head. He couldn't think of anyone with that name, not in this life or the previous . . . .

The telephone's harsh ringing broke his concentration. He glanced at the clock. Already past ten. No one else would be around to answer the phone. He slid from beneath the sheets, shoving his feet into his slippers. He had planned to spend that Sunday lounging around in bed.

Issei picked up the phone in the hall, squinting against the bright sunshine that shone aggressively from the windows. "Hello?" he asked cautiously.

"Ten rings!" A shrill voice yelled from the other end of the line. "Really, Issei, don't you have a phone right outside your room?"

He smiled. "Good morning, Sakura."

In a moment her scolding was forgotten. Blaming the beautiful weather for her excess energy, Sakura wanted to know if he wanted to spend the day with her at the zoo. Issei could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon. "Sounds good," he agreed. He hadn't been to the zoo in months, since that long-ago day with Jinpachi.

"Great!" Sakura's enthusiasm was contagious. "Meet me by the front gate in two hours!"

He hung up the phone, indulging in a long stretch. Two hours was plenty of time to get dressed, have breakfast, and catch a train to the zoo. Issei double-checked the time. If he hurried, he could sneak in fifteen more minutes of sleep. Dragging his feet, he walked the two meters to his room and flopped onto the bed. Fifteen minutes sounded perfect.

Haruhiko glanced at his watch again. It was already ten past eleven; Tamura was late. He sipped his water nervously. It wasn't like him to be anything less than prompt. Maybe he should've called to verify that they were still meeting that day. Haru bit his lip--he hoped he hadn't been forgotten.

The thought was too ridiculous to consider. Tamura was never that inconsiderate. Haruhiko scolded himself for being so untrusting.

It had happened a lot lately. For no real reason, he'd found himself unsure and insecure about things and people that usually put him at ease. He'd also found himself worrying about the base on the moon, about its strategic position and the vulnerability of the Earth, should any hostile aliens find it. Shion had failed to destroy it the year before, and somehow his old, seemingly forgotten concern had lodged itself into Haru. He secretly longed to tell someone in the government about the research station, to unburden himself of the responsibility of knowing.

But that was crazy. No one would believe him. For that matter, there were no hostile aliens.

He hadn't been this uneasy just two weeks before. He wondered what had changed.

Haru looked at his watch again. Eleven-fifteen.

He was just about to walk to a pay telephone to try calling him, when Tamura's voice boomed across the outdoor cafe. "Hey Haru! Sorry I'm late!" He was rushing across the busy street, smiling happily and waving.

Haruhiko jumped to his feet, relieved. "Tamura!"

"Sorry I'm late, kid." The older man slid into the chair across from Haru, signaling to the waitress as he took off his hat. "My shopping took longer than I expected."

"I-it's okay," Haru stammered, his face flushed from the embarrassment of being so concerned. "I hardly noticed."

Gulping down the glass of water brought to him, Tamura picked up the menu. "I'm starved! What are you having?"

They ordered their lunch and while waiting, caught up on everything missed in the months that Tamura had spent in Kyoto. "It's good to be home. Now that Master Takashi is back in his old school, it looks like I'll be able to stay in Tokyo at least another year."

Mastudaira Takashi had just begun his last year of high school. Haruhiko wondered what would happen when he graduated. Would Tamura be free of his duties? "But--but what then?" he asked, unable to keep the anxiety from his voice. "Will you follow him to the university, too?"

Tamura laughed, a deep sound that made Haru smile. "I doubt the young master has any plans for higher education. No, I'll probably settle down here and do whatever Mr. Mastudaira has planned for me. It'll be nice to have my own place and a nine-to-five job, assuming that's what he has in mind." He grinned, making Haruhiko blush. "I'm kind of hoping that's what's going to happen."

Haru was surprised that Tamura would want to be away from his charge. He'd always seemed pretty devoted to the boy. "Won't you miss him? Takashi, I mean."

"Well," Tamura scratched his head as though deep in thought. "I suppose I'll miss him a little, but I'm sure I'll find plenty of things to keep myself busy." He smiled at the waitress as she refilled his tea. "And what about you? You keeping too busy to see our good friend Mikuro?"

Haruhiko looked down, afraid to tell Tamura that he'd been avoiding Mikuro intentionally. He didn't want to be reminded of the trouble with Shion. He didn't want to be Shukkaido anymore. "I--uh--I've got a lot of schoolwork to keep up with, now that I'm in high school."

Tamura nodded, taking a bite of his lunch. "But don't let it be too much of a strain," he warned. "You need to take some time to relax, and now that Mikuro's living in Tokyo, I don't see why the three of us can't catch a movie or something."

Haru knew that his friend was just watching out for him. He'd probably asked Mikuro to keep an eye on things, to make sure that Shion didn't cause any more trouble. But Haru didn't need protection. The past was over--no one would come looking for him now.

Suddenly his food somehow tasted too strong; he pushed it around with his chopsticks a while before glancing back up at Tamura. He looked happy. Really happy. The tiniest bit of a smile curved his lips upward and his eyes sparkled in a way Haruhiko had never seen before.

Before he could ask why, Tamura leaned close. "Can I tell you a secret, Haru?" He barely waited for the answering nod before continuing. "My shopping--it wasn't just any old shopping. I was buying something for Ayako." He pulled a tiny box from his jacket, flipping open the lid to reveal a stunning diamond ring. "Do you s'pose she'll take it?"

No words came to Haru's mind. He stared at the ring, shocked. "You--you're getting married?" he asked finally. Tamura suddenly seemed very grown up, very far away. Panic flared in Haruhiko's chest as he imagined his friend married, maybe with children of his own. How would he possibly find time to see him? "Congratulations," he choked.

Tamura grinned, snapping the lid shut and putting the velvet box back into his pocket. "Well, first let's see if the lady says yes."

Even though they were going to spend the afternoon together, Haru felt very lonely.

Sakura was beginning to wish she had suggested someplace--anyplace--other than the zoo. They'd been there less than an hour when Ogura Jinpachi, conveniently bringing a package to his brother, fell into step beside them. The look on Issei's face, that mixture of confusion and delight, made her sick to her stomach. Some people never learn.

So far they'd discussed nothing but their upcoming school trip--a week in Hokkaido. Sakura hated trips like that. Not really, but she hated being left out of the conversation on her own date.

They stopped for snow cones. Issei ordered hers without having to ask what flavor she wanted. Sakura took the lemon-lime snow cone from his hands, glaring up at Issei's friend. At least Issei knew her favorite flavors--had Jinpachi ever warranted such attention? Obviously not. She sighed as they sat on a bench near the zebras. It was stupid to get so competitive; Jinpachi didn't even care. She ate the ice idly, staring at the zebras through the wire fence as she half-listened to the boys' conversation.

"So, have you had any more of those weird dreams?" Jinpachi asked suddenly.

Issei nodded. "This morning." He ate a spoonful of his snow cone. "Like the others, it disappeared before I could remember much."

Jinpachi nodded, serious. "Anything new?"

"Her name is Nadeshiko," Issei answered, nodding. "All I know is that she calls me Enju and says that someone's coming."

"Nadeshiko?" Jinpachi scratched his chin. "I don't remember anyone with that name."

Sakura stared at them, amazed. Issei was having new moon dreams and he hadn't told her? "What?" she cried, almost dumping her ice onto the pavement. "Who is Nadeshiko? Why haven't I heard about this?"

The boys smiled nervously at her. "It's no big deal," Issei assured her. "I don't even remember anything, really."

"Do you remember anyone named Nadeshiko? From the--" Jinpachi dropped his voice to a whisper. "From the mother planet?"

Sakura shook her head. She remembered a lot, but never any woman with that name. "Was she a scientist?"

A shrug was Issei's answer. "I can't remember anything about these dreams, except that Nadeshiko says she's coming, and that I should watch for her."

Stabbing at her snow cone with her spoon, Sakura twisted this new information around in her head. She didn't like it one bit that Jinpachi knew all about this before she did, but the idea that someone from the mother planet, possibly someone they'd known, might still be alive and searching for them--that could be very interesting.

Alice's mother came into the kitchen just as she was tying a scarf around the _bento_ boxes. The homemade lunch, along with a thermos full of tea and a bundle of cookies, would be the perfect food for her picnic with Rin.

"Really, Alice! Do you have to encourage that child so much?" Her mother's tone was harsh, making Alice flinch. "He came to his senses a year ago--why on earth do you continue to indulge him? It's not good to tease boys, even when they're only eight!"

Nine, Alice corrected silently. Would she ever stop nagging? "It's only a picnic, mother, not an elopement." Alice kept her tone even and almost demure--it would just upset her if she urged her mother into yelling.

"So you're not planning to run away with him?" Hajime poked his head into the kitchen. "Could've fooled me. I've never seen a kid so irritatingly smitten!"

"Hajime!" His words made Alice flush a deep shade of red. "Rin and I are friends. Can't you leave it at that?"

"Maybe," he said slowly, "when you start going out with guys your own age!"

He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms stubbornly and waiting for her to answer. Alice didn't have anything to say about that--there were no boys her own age that she was interested in. Just Shion.

"He has a point, Alice," her mother scolded. "Before long, people will be talking!"

Alice picked up the lunch and grabbed her jacket and picnic blanket. "Let them talk," she muttered to herself, yanking the door open. Her face was burning and her eyes stung, but she was determined not to let them bully her.

"Alice!" Rin's cheerful voice caught her as soon as she closed the door. He was leaning on the wall across the hall. "Ready to go, Alice?" He smiled at her and her frustration disappeared. Someday they might understand, she hoped.

As they walked to the park, Rin talked excitedly about his upcoming school camping trip. "We're gonna sleep in tents and cook our food over a campfire! And the best thing is that it's the same week as your school trip to Hokkaido, so we won't have to miss each other!" he chirped. Alice missed elementary school trips, which were more recreational than educational. Her school trip almost certainly would be followed by a project or paper on what she'd learned.

By the time they reached a grassy area away from the playground, Rin had fallen silent. Alice didn't mind; sometimes she wondered if she could really keep up with him. He helped her spread out the blanket, his eyes meeting hers across the expanse of yellow cotton.

"Alice?" he began, untying the knot holding the bundle of cookies. "Have you felt anything strange lately?"

She was mortified to find herself blushing. Rin had endured a huge growth spurt the past few months--now his head reached her chin and his limbs were lean and strong. Her feelings for him were as muddled as ever, but now and then she got hints of the man he would grow into, and that sent her mind reeling into even more confusion. "Wha--what do you mean?"

He seemed oblivious to her embarrassment. "Not as Alice, exactly, but Mokuren. Have you felt anything strange as her?"

"You mean from the moon?"

He smiled at her simple terms. "Kind of. Any premonitions, weird sensations?"

Alice thought about it. None of the confusion from before had returned to her. Since her awakening, her past life had felt very matter-of-fact to her--not mystical at all. She shook her head. "Why?"

Rin took a bite of _onigiri_, chewing for a long time before answering. "I just have this eerie feeling that there's more." While he unscrewed the cap of the thermos and poured himself a cup of tea, Alice had time to think about his words.

"More?" She was puzzled. "But everyone from the mother planet died. The seven of us died. What more could there be?" She nibbled anxiously on a cookie. The last time Shion surfaced to take control of his past life, Rin ended up in the hospital. For that reason alone, she hoped that his premonitions were just a result of his overactive imagination.

"I don't know, Alice. I just have this feeling . . . . I feel like someone, somewhere, is watching us."

The moon sure was bright. Sakura stared out her bedroom window at it, half-wishing that when she looked up she could see a rabbit, like everyone else. Instead, the moon made her think of Enju; lately the image of Issei replaced the woman's lovely face.

Their date that afternoon had been a total bust.

She sighed. It wasn't Issei's fault. It wasn't really Jinpachi's fault either. Neither of them had known it was a date. She was such a coward.

But how could she tell him? How could she just spit it out and confess her feelings when she knew she'd be rejected? If Jinpachi weren't always hanging around, maybe she'd have a chance to change Issei's feelings. Damn him for following in Enju's footsteps! Sakura wasn't able to feel justifiably angry for too long. After all, could she say she wasn't in love with Issei just because of Shusuran's feelings for Enju?

"Damn!" Kicking a pillow across her room, Sakura flung herself onto her bed. Obviously this was going to take longer--a lot longer--than she'd thought.

"Sakura?" A light knock on her bedroom door interrupted her musings. Her mother opened it slightly, squinting in the darkness. "Have you gone to bed already? Anyway, you got some mail, sweetheart. I'll leave it right here on your dresser."

Mail? She perked up. Who on earth would be sending her a letter? "Thanks, Mom," she called out. "G'night!"

Her mother closed the door as Sakura bounded up from the bed. Flicking the light on, she grabbed the letter. It was a postcard; the picture was of a cheesy rural scene. She flipped it over.

_Shusuran--just wanted to drop you a line from my new school. I'm doing well and have been studying hard for my exams. Say hello to everyone for me. Hiiragi, aka Daisuke_.

His letter-type-perfect handwriting made her smile. Doing well? He was probably the first in his class. He always had been when he attended her school. It was strange not having him around all the time.

She frowned, wondering what he'd think about Issei's latest dreams.

_He blinked, the glow from the lights too bright for his sensitive eyes. Where was he? Why was he lying down? _

_"Shukkaido?" Her voice was sweet. Young. "Are you waking up, Shukkaido?" _

_"A--Ayame?" he asked groggily. Her face swam into view--pretty, with short dark hair and bright violet eyes. What happened to me? _

_She grinned. "You passed out. You forgot to ventilate your suit properly, so you didn't get enough oxygen. She ran a hand over his face, pushing his hair from his eyes. "For a moment there, I thought I'd lost you." _

_It was stumbling back to him, a moment at a time. They'd been practicing the use of the artificial environment systems built into the space suits they'd be using on their missions. By wearing them in an oxygen-free chamber, the doctors could demonstrate their ability to perform in real space. Apparently Shukkaido hadn't done so well. _

_"Am I in trouble?" he asked cautiously. He'd only just met Ayame at the beginning of this training program, but they'd developed a camaraderie that made them trusted friends. He knew she'd watch out for him, if she could._

_She shook her head, her black hair bouncing over her forehead. "I got you out of your suit before they could check it out. You plugged in the hoses backwards." _

_Sitting up, Shukkaido glanced around him. He was on a soft bed, and gentle music played from speakers nearby. This wasn't his room, but it wasn't one of the sterile medic chambers either. "Where are we?" _

_The young woman blushed, her cheeks staining pink as she glanced away. "I had them bring you to my room." She giggled softly. "I told them you'd blacked out from claustrophobia, so they wouldn't send you to a medic chamber." _

_"Claustrophobia?" Shukkaido was outraged. "Why on earth would a doctor leave something like that untreated if he were planning to go to space? You've made me look like a complete idiot!"_

_She laughed. "Ah, but this way, I get to 'treat' you; by tomorrow, you'll be fine!" Since the discovery of drugs even stronger than hypnotic suggestion, the treatment of phobias had become a simple thing. "If I said it was a medical condition, rather than a psychological one, they would've thrown you out of the research program!" _

_She had a point. Ayame was easily the brightest doctor working in the space program. She'd graduated medical school at nineteen, and now, just two years later, she was working in a position thousands of doctors would give their teeth for. Shukkaido looked up to her and respected her medical opinions--he'd been surprised to find that she was as beautiful as intelligent, not to mention friendly and cheerful to boot. _

_"Well, I'm fine now," he declared, hopping off the bed. A wave of dizziness almost sent him crashing back down, but she grabbed his shoulders, steadying him. _

_"Easy! We don't want you to lose consciousness again!" _

_He took a few deep breaths until he felt more stable, then walked slowly around the room. "Nice place--it's a lot better than mine." _

_"The best thing about being female in this profession--you usually don't end up sharing a room. You're with the other two men, right?" There were four doctors training for off-planet research. Shukkaido and the other men were assigned jobs at observation bases, but Ayame's job was a little different. _

_"So you're going to be stationed on a ship with a genetics lab?" he asked, sitting on the couch and motioning for her to join him. Are you working on artificial colonization, or what?" _

_She sat, shaking her head. "I'm not really authorized to say," she apologized. "All I can tell you is that if the planet your crew is observing is the most suitable for our purposes, we'll be working together again one day." _

_He looked at her intently, wondering if he'd ever meet anyone he could feel so at-ease with. "That'd be nice," he said huskily. Suddenly realizing that he was staring at her, he looked away. "Ayame . . . " he began, embarrassed. _

_She reached over covering his hands with hers. "Shukkaido," she said softly, smiling at him gently. "I'd like that, too"_


	2. Chapter 2

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Tuesday, Day Two:**

The breeze was warm; Alice lifted her face into the sunlight, enjoying the feeling of the heat on her skin. Branches from a nearby flowering bush tickled her shoulders as if to say hello. "Good afternoon," she whispered back, a smile curving her lips. Spring was slowly giving way to summer, but afternoons this beautiful were still rare.

"Sakaguchi!" She looked up to see Jinpachi waving at her from across the courtyard, a bag of food from the vendors clutched in his fist. He was followed closely by Issei, who smiled shyly as he drank his soda.

Alice smiled back, waving them over to her bench in the sunshine. Now that the weather was warm, they could at least eat together, though they were still in different classes. She moved her books and lunch, making room for the boys.

Issei sat beside her. "Hello," he greeted her, his quiet voice friendly.

Jinpachi threw himself onto the ground, grinning as he tore open his lunch. "Hungry," he explained, taking a bite of the bread. Alice smiled. Jinpachi reminded her of her brother sometimes. For a while the three of them ate in silence, enjoying the weather and the good food.

Issei spoke first. "How's Rin doing, Sakaguchi?" he asked politely. It had been several months since everyone had seen each other.

She smiled, happy to be able to talk about her favorite friend. "He's doing so well! They're thinking of letting him test out of a grade, next year." He'd been first in his class since his awakening. Alice knew it was because of Shion's knowledge, but she was still proud that he did so well.

Jinpachi made an impressed snort, trying to swallow a chunk of bread. "Wow!" he said, finally catching his breath. "Not bad for the little brat!"

Alice's breath caught on the last word. It was upsetting that her friend still held a grudge against Rin, but at least, she reasoned, he could be happy for him. Issei seemed to have completely forgiven the boy for his behavior, understanding the difference between Rin and Shion. She wished Jinpachi would hurry up and do the same.

"He's clearly a very bright child," Issei added. "I hope he realizes what a big deal this is."

Alice nodded. Rin took his education very seriously. If he continued on this track, he'd easily get into a great high school and probably one of the best colleges. His aptitude for science and math would make him the perfect candidate for a career in engineering or even medicine.

"Has anyone heard from Shukkaido lately? Kasama Haruhiko, I mean." Jinpachi's voice cut into Alice's thoughts. "I haven't seen him since he got out of the hospital last year."

"I haven't either," Alice admitted, though she hadn't given it much thought. Haruhiko didn't trust them very much--and with good reason, after all. "Why do you ask, so suddenly?"

Jinpachi looked at Issei and something passed silently between them. For a moment, Alice watched anxiously, wondering if she would be let into their secret. Then Jinpachi nodded, apparently coming to a decision.

"I've been having dreams," Issei confessed slowly. "They seem to be premonitions--though I don't know from where, or whom." He took a deep breath and addressed Alice's puzzled expression. "A woman . . . a woman named Nadeshiko seems to be trying to contact me, something about someone coming--here, I assume." He glanced at Jinpachi. "This has something to do with Enju--with all of us from the moon."

A shiver of fear ran through Alice. Someone coming? To Earth? She glanced around the courtyard, at the newly bloomed flowers and the birds that chirped in the trees. No one should disturb that. Rin. The memory made her feelings more ominous. "Rin said something like that--that he felt someone watching us. It made him uneasy."

"I thought so!" Jinpachi jumped up in his excitement. "Issei's a telepath, and Rin's a powerful psychic--only Shukkaido's powers are as strong his. If the kid's felt something, then Shukkaido must know something for sure!" He grasped Issei's hands, his eyes gleaming. "Don't you see what that means?" he cried. "It's real! Nadeshiko's real--from the mother planet!"

Alice registered Issei's blush at Jinpachi's sudden contact, but her stomach felt too queasy to think much of it. The earth suddenly seemed very fragile to her, very vulnerable. Something should be done to keep others from coming. Something must be done soon.

"I think we should definitely call a meeting," Jinpachi continued with exuberance. "Tonight--at my house! I'll call Shukkaido." He looked at Issei. "You get Shusuran and have her contact Hiiragi," he ordered. He smiled as his eyes met Alice's. "And you'll tell Shion, right? Man, this is going to be great!"

The people at the mall seemed cheerful as they rushed around, meeting people and shopping. Haruhiko watched them as he waited for his mother. Even sitting in the crowded shopping center, he felt out of place, conspicuous. He had thought the displaced feeling would fade as soon as he entered high school, but even around kids his own age, he felt abnormal.

There was a good reason, of course. He _was_ abnormal. His skin, his heart, his memories, his power--not one thing about him let him blend with the background. Only one person ever seemed to notice how it made him feel, and that person was about to make him an outsider again.

Haru wondered how Tamura felt about Ayako. Sure, he must love her, everyone loved her, but what made her so special that he wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to her? What was it about her that made him want to come home to her every evening, to sleep next to her every night? He blushed, unwillingly imagining Tamura kissing her, touching her. What quality did she have that other women--other people--lacked?

Why did she have to bewitch him so he couldn't see anyone else? What was he going to do when Tamura was married, with responsibilities and kids of his own? Haruhiko trembled, and he was suddenly very afraid.

Tamura had once said that they were in synch with each other, that they understood each other more closely than most people. That's why he'd been able to see him as Shukkaido. If he went away and married Ayako, Haru was sure that bond would be severed. Then who would be his friend?

No one. Haruhiko dropped his head against his knees, trying not to cry.

"Wow," Jinpachi said as he dumped a bag of convenience store snacks on the carpeted floor. "It's been a long time since we've all been together like this." This time they were meeting at his house--five of them were crammed into his tiny bedroom.

Sakura huffed, picking up a sweet bean cake and tossing it in one hand. "We're not all here, you know. Hiiragi couldn't get all the way here on such short notice."

Jinpachi wondered at the challenge in her tone. He shook his head. She was hard to figure out sometimes. Shukkaido wasn't there, either. Jinpachi had called, but the boy had refused to talk to him. "I think he's still holding a grudge against us--Shukkaido, I mean. I called his place twice, and both times his mother said he wasn't well enough to talk." He exhaled sharply. "Jeez, and we need him, too."

"Do we?" Alice asked softly from the corner. "Maybe we should leave the poor boy alone." She glanced around the room, seeking everyone's faces, then dropped her eyes back down to her hands.

For a long time, no one spoke, and Jinpachi thought they were all feeling a little ashamed. But it wasn't their fault! He wanted to shake everyone and shout that it was really only Shion that should feel bad. It infuriated him that they should all be lumped in the same category as Shion and his lunatic behavior. "But--" he protested.

"I think Mokuren is right," Issei pointed out at the same time. "Even though we didn't hurt him, we didn't notice anything was wrong either."

"Poor Shukkaido," Sakura whispered.

Rin stood up, his hair masking his eyes as he looked at his shoes. "We must continue," he said, his young voice barely wavering. "We have to figure out whether this presence from the mother planet is a threat." He looked at Issei. "Enju, what have your dreams shown you?"

Issei told him the same thing he'd said to Jinpachi and Alice that afternoon at lunch. "Each night it gets a little clearer, but I always forget who Nadeshiko is, and how I know her." He scratched his head. "I wonder if she's someone who trained with Enju."

"Has anyone else had any kind of dream or premonition about this?" Jinpachi asked eagerly. Alice and Sakura shook their heads. Jinpachi wasn't going to let that quell his exuberance. The idea of meeting others from the past was beyond his wildest imaginings. He had a million questions--just thinking about having one or two answered filled him with excited anticipation. He remembered his glee that night that Hiiragi answered their ad; that was nothing compared to the way he felt now.

"I'm sure something's definitely going to happen," Rin answered slowly, pacing around the small room. "I can't tell what, exactly, but it has to do with the mother planet. I suppose it's very possible that others like us survived the destruction of our world; there were three separate observation missions, as well as a research ship working on the same project, after all. It makes sense that someone might have survived. Maybe all of them." He looked at each of the teenagers very seriously before sitting next to Alice. "But what do they want here, with us?"

"And why," Alice added, "would they wait eighteen years before contacting us?"

"What does it matter?!" Jinpachi was on his feet in a moment. "A great civilization may in fact live on--some of our old friends may still be alive! This is the best thing that ever happened!"

Sakura smiled, looking up at Jinpachi with friendly eyes. "For once, I've gotta agree with him," she said, grinning. "Things like this are too incredible to ignore. I think we've got to get in touch with these people as soon as we can!" She popped open a can of soda and held it up in a toast. "To Sarjalim!" she cried.

Her mood was infectious. Issei laughed and grabbed a can for himself, spraying soda in the air as he popped the tab. In a moment, everyone was giggling. Jinpachi picked up the phone to call Hiiragi. This was too big to keep quiet. As the phone rang, he looked at his friends. "I still think someone ought to try to talk with Shukkaido."

Rin looked serious. "I'll do it," he offered evenly.

Jinpachi was startled. He'd meant someone who wouldn't have to use scare tactics to get him there.

"No," Alice interceded gently before Jinpachi could say anything. "I'll talk with him."


	3. Chapter 3

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Wednesday, Day Three:**

The phone rang three times before a pleasant-sounding woman picked up. Alice took a deep breath; she hated phone calls. "May I please speak with Kasama Haruhiko?" she asked politely. "This is Sakaguchi Alice."

His mother asked her to wait on the line. Alice's heart pounded. She hoped he would speak to her. She wanted him to understand about Rin--about Shion--and he had a right to know about the others from the mother planet. After a few minutes, the lady's gentle voice returned. "I'm sorry, Miss Sakaguchi," she began kindly.

"Please," Alice interrupted. "Please, Mrs. Kasama, I need to speak with Haruhiko. It's important." She softened her voice and willed the woman to understand her. "I promise, I mean him no harm."

"Just one moment," she answered, her voice a little gruff. "I think Haru needs more friends his own age--he's too shy, really."

Alice waited again, anxious and nervous. If he refused again, she had no choice but to give up. She crossed her fingers and wished.

"Sakaguchi?" Haruhiko's soft voice was her reward. "Sakaguchi, this is Haruhiko."

She smiled. "Hello," she greeted him softly.

Five minutes later they had arranged to meet. Alice felt as light as air. When she hung up the phone, and turned around, she was startled to see Hajime watching her from the couch. He grinned, making her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Nice to see you taking the initiative, Alice!" he jeered playfully. "It's not many girls who are bold enough to call a guy they're interested in!"

"But--but I'm not--" Alice stuttered, mortified. "He isn't--isn't--"

Hajime laughed, leaving the room before hearing her out. "Have fun on your date, Alice!"

She took a few deep breaths. It was just Hajime; he was only teasing. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She had just half an hour to get to the library to meet Haruhiko. She wrote a note for her mother and ran out to the balcony to get her hat.

Rin was there, standing quietly beside the open door, a subdued look on his face.

"Rin!" Alice exclaimed, grabbing her hat from the chair where she'd left it. "I thought you were out playing!" She felt awkward and conspicuous, running off to meet another boy while Rin was there at home. Her heart beat wildly and she felt just a little bit ashamed.

"I'm glad you could reach Shukkaido," he said quietly. "He should listen to you, Alice." He leaned against the wall, looking out over the skyline.

"I hope you're right," Alice responded nervously. Rin's lack of energy worried her. She wondered how much of Hajime's teasing he'd heard, and what he thought of it. He should know better than to think she might . . . . "Well, I'll see you later, Rin."

She turned to leave, but was frozen by Rin's thin arms wrapping around her, by the force of his narrow body being thrown against her back. He leaned his forehead between her shoulders, his breath hot through her dress. "I know that he's your age, and I know you think he's handsome," he said quickly, squeezing her tightly against him. "But don't--" he broke off, clenching his fists in frustration. "Just remember me, Alice."

She wrapped her arms around her middle, holding herself more securely in Rin's embrace. Her hands found the skin of his forearms, his wrists. So warm. Her heart skipped erratically, then relaxed to a peaceful rhythm. There was something so right about this, about Rin.

"Don't worry," she whispered, aware of the rise and fall of his chest against her back. "I'll be home soon, Rin." She stepped forward, out of his arms, but let her fingers twine with his for a moment. "Don't worry about anything."

She heard the sigh of his breath, felt the squeeze of his fingers, and suddenly was very shy. Without turning to look at him, she hurried through the apartment and out the door.

It was late afternoon by the time she reached the library. Alice hurried up the cement steps, anxious to talk with Haruhiko and get home. The afternoon sunlight slanted bright and golden across the sky, making her thankful she'd remembered her hat.

Rin. The memory of his slender arms, his trembling voice, made her smile. He was so unlike Shion, yet he was starting to evoke the same warm tenderness within her.

"Sakaguchi!" Haru's voice pulled her from her contemplation. He'd grown. He looked stronger. Alice was startled by how much more he looked like Shion. He hurried across the wide steps, his arms full of books. Alice glanced at the titles. Astrophysics? Genetics? Chemical warfare? She looked up at the young boy who smiled shyly at her. There was clearly a lot more to Shukkaido, to Haruhiko, than she'd thought.

They made awkward conversation as they walked down the steps and to the street. Alice realized that she knew almost nothing about the young man, that she had no idea what kind of things he cared about. How was she supposed to make an appeal if she didn't know how?

When they reached the street, Haru paused. He looked down at her, his face serious. Alice stumbled over what she had been saying about the weather. His gaze was soulful--almost wounding. "What did you want to talk about, Mokuren?" he asked quietly.

His directness flustered her. She felt very aware of the busy street and the sound of the traffic.

"Um, this isn't a good place," she explained. "Do you want to go somewhere, get a cup of coffee?" A quiet coffee house would be the perfect place to tell him about the others.

He agreed. Within ten minutes they had their coffee and Alice couldn't think of any other way to stall the inevitable.

"There are others coming to Earth," she said quickly, not knowing how else to say it. "Enju has been receiving messages, and Shion," she stumbled over the name of Mokuren's lover, afraid of upsetting the boy. "Shion has had a feeling that something big is going to happen. With the moon, I mean." Alice suddenly had the feeling that she was the worst person to try to describe this. "The others--the others want to know if you've felt anything."

Haruhiko looked at her over his coffee, then looked away. A faint blush tinged his cheeks. "Last year, Shion wanted me to--" He blushed as he stirred the liquid in his cup. "When I look at you, I see her, you know. You're just like Mokuren."

Confusion pierced Alice's chest. With her limp black hair and dark eyes, she never felt as different from her former self than she did right then. Mokuren would have known what to say to Shukkaido. Mokuren wouldn't get flustered.

"Really, Shukkaido, I don't think--"

"Haru!" A deep, masculine voice interrupted her. "How have you been?"

Haruhiko jumped to his feet, smiling awkwardly as the taller man hurried over. He was followed by a beautiful woman. Alice's breath caught in her throat. Except for her black hair, the woman could be an exact replica of Mokuren. She seemed terribly familiar.

Haru was involved in introductions. "This is my friend, Sakaguchi Alice. Sakaguchi, this is Tamura Kazuto, my--my mentor, and his fiancée," his voice almost questioned the word. "His fiancée, Ayako."

Tamura clapped Haruhiko on the shoulder. "Haru, my boy, why didn't you tell me? She's a very pretty young lady." He smiled at Alice. She looked down, embarrassed by the misunderstanding. "No more secrets! Got it?"

In a whirl of Haru's stammering and Tamura's booming voice, Alice thought of Rin. Wasn't this just the kind of thing he'd been worried about? But as suddenly as it had begun, everything was over. Tamura and the beautiful woman were leaving, and Haru could barely meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'll explain to him later."

She suddenly got the impulse to ease his discomfort. "It's all right," she smiled. "Let's be friends, okay, Shukkaido?"

"Please," his voice was low; Alice had to lean close to hear him. "Please call me Haruhiko. I'm not--I'm not him anymore." He took a long drink of his coffee. "Shion must've told you. I don't want to be him anymore."

"I understand." In a way, she really thought she did. It was difficult coming to terms with her previous incarnation. For a long time she'd denied it, just like him. "But Shu--I mean, Haruhiko, there's so much--"

He clenched his eyes shut. "No! I can't!" Suddenly looking at her, his eyes startlingly fierce, he stunned her into silence. "I know what you're going to say, but I can't! I won't meet them. It's over! I don't care about Nadeshiko, or Ayame, or Hinagiku! It's not my life anymore!"

It was as though the world had stopped. Alice knew those names. Ayame. Hinagiku. Was he really coming here, to her planet? "Haruhiko," she began desperately. She reached across the table and grasped his trembling hands. "Please, you have to tell me more!"

Rin sat by the gate, squinting in the dim light of the streetlamps to read his book. His mother had already come out twice to ask him to come inside, but he couldn't. Not until Alice came home. He remembered the way she'd stared after Haruhiko that day at the store. He remembered the light in her eyes, the bewildered half-smile on her face. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, the problem was that he was just a kid; she had no reason to wait for him.

His eyes were beginning to hurt. It was foolish of him to keep reading--anyone could tell he was waiting for someone. Maybe he should wait for her on the balcony. He glanced down the deserted street. Ten more minutes.

Just as he'd decided to wait five more, after those ten had passed, Rin heard footsteps. He peered over the top of his book. Alice! He jumped to his feet, trying to calm the rapid pounding of his heart.

She saw him and hurried the last half-block to their gate. "Rin!" she called out, smiling. "You didn't have to wait for me!" He could see through her smile. Something was bothering her.

"How did it go with Shukkaido?" he asked, pushing aside his nervousness.

Alice sat on the steps, looking up at the stars. "Not well," she answered evenly. "He won't come." She wrapped her arms around her knees.

Rin looked down at her, noting her defensive position and the sad, almost frightened expression on her face. "What else did he say? Did he know anything?"

She looked up, and Rin's breath caught in his throat. Her serious eyes looked just like Mokuren's, and for an instant he thought he saw the four red dots on her forehead, marking her as a Sarjalian. Whatever Haruhiko had told her must have bothered the part of her that still was Mokuren. "What did he tell you?"

She sighed. "He named the others. Nadeshiko, the captain of the ship; Ayame, a doctor and genetic engineer." A long pause stretched out before she continued. "Hinagiku. He's a Sarjalian. Haruhiko said they were on a mission from the Mother Planet, like ours but different, that somehow our research supported their work." She shook her head and shivered. "They're coming here. To the moon, to Earth."

The elation from before was long gone. In its place Rin felt a cold stab of dread. He'd been wrong to be carried away by Jinpachi's enthusiasm. Even from the mother planet, aliens were aliens--invaders, perhaps. They had to find out what these others wanted.

He sat on the step next to Alice, wishing he could put his arm around her, wanting to comfort her. Instead, he tucked his hands behind his knees. "Then we need Shukkaido more than ever."

Haru was in his room, reading his library books, trying to forget about Mokuren and what she'd said to him, how she'd made him feel. He remembered what Shion had said before, a long time ago--how hard could it be, to seduce a pretty girl? He almost laughed. Pretty close to impossible, if she sapped his confidence the way Mokuren did. She'd almost made him break, almost made him promise to come to their meetings and rejoin the aliens. She'd come close to destroying every barrier he'd built in the past year.

A knock on his bedroom door lifted Haru's eyes from the pages of his book. It was just as well; he hadn't really been reading it anyway. With a sigh, he tucked the unwieldy book under his bed, along with the other science books that he read instead of his homework. "Yes?" he called, flipping open his notebook. His mother had chastised him once already for not studying; he didn't want to upset her.

She opened the door a crack and peered in. "Haruhiko," she began softly. "Someone's here to see you. He says his name is Yakushimaru."

Haru's breath caught. "Mikuro?" He was the last person he'd expected. A nervous flutter disturbed his stomach. He put away his homework and sat up, straightening the bedspread. "Please, bring him in," he asked his mother.

A moment later, the taller boy was there, leaning against the doorframe as his eyes scanned the room. He hadn't changed much. His build was the same, thin like a teenager despite being almost twenty-two. His hair had grown--he wore it tied back in a short ponytail now, though it still hung over his eyes in the front. Those eyes narrowed as they rested on Haru's picture of the moon. "I thought that place gave you trouble," he commented, finally walking into the room. "Why the hell do you want to remind yourself of that?"

"I--I like the moon. I like astronomy," Haruhiko stammered, thrown off balance by Mikuro's lack of a greeting. That picture reminded him of good things--of Mokuren's singing and Gyokuran's grin. Of Shion, tinkering with the computers at all hours of the day or night. There were plenty of more local places to remind him of the bad stuff.

"Won't you sit down?" Haru asked, motioning to a chair in the corner. He wondered why Mikuro had come tonight, after being in town for almost four months.

"I'm worried about you," Mikuro said, answering his thoughts. "I came to see what the hell's been bugging you so much today."

Haru stared at his guest, flabbergasted. He knew Mikuro was psychic, but he could read minds that clearly, too? "How long," he asked, shaking his head, "have you been able to read my thoughts?"

The pale boy laughed. Haruhiko had never heard him laugh before. "Kid, I've been doing it since the first time I ever saw you. I watched you at the aquarium, listening to your mental babble for fifteen minutes before talking to you. I'd hoped you would've calmed down since then, but clearly that's not the case."

Calmed down? Haru felt panic rising in his chest. How was he supposed to stay calm when his mind being stripped bare by a virtual stranger? He strained to remember how they'd dealt with Enju on the moon base--there had to be some way to block his thoughts.

"Easy, easy!" Mikuro laughed again. "I'll stay out, if that's what you want." He sat down, crossing his long legs. "I was just concerned 'cause you've been having a rough time."

Haruhiko was discovering that he liked to hear Mikuro's laugh. It was relaxed, boyish. The tightness in his chest gave way to relief. Maybe they could be friends. "It hasn't been too bad," he protested weakly.

"Don't lie to me," Mikuro threatened with a grin. "I could feel your angst clear the hell on the other end of town. I called Tamura, but he seemed to think you were fine. That's when I decided I had to come see you myself." He leaned over, his elbows on his thighs and hands cupping his chin. His eyes flashed, peering intently into Haru's. "So, what's such a big deal that you can't tell Tamura?"

Nothing. Everything. Tamura was too happy to notice him anymore, and now aliens from the mother planet might be coming to invade the Earth. He'd sound like a whiny brat who had lost touch with reality. Mikuro would think he was crazy; or worse, that he was making it up to get Tamura to pay attention to him.

Haru laughed, his eyes watering and his chest constricting painfully. It sounded insane, but it was true, and seven kids were the only people who could save the planet. Six. Haru's body began to shake as his laughter broke into sobbing. Only six kids, because he didn't count.

Mikuro was beside him in a moment, not touching him, but comforting with his presence. "Hey, Kid," he said softly. "Nothing can be so bad that you can't talk about it."

Haru shook his head, falling backward onto the bed and covering his face with a pillow. Tears were streaming from the corners of his eyes, running across his cheekbones and into his hair. Mikuro was wrong--some things can be that bad. Some things are worse, so bad that you can't do anything about them.

_Except_ talk. Haruhiko realized that was what he wanted, to share his lunacy with another human being.

Without looking at Mikuro, without even moving from where he lay on the bed, Haru started talking. He told the whole story: about Ayame, about his dreams, about the way he just knew about Nadeshiko and Hinagiku. He talked about Mokuren and Shion, and how Shukkaido--how he would watch them, not knowing who he envied more.

A long time later, they lay together in the dim room, both very quiet and still. Mikuro stared at the ceiling, at the tiny plastic stars that formed constellations that no one on Earth had ever seen. "Haru," he began in a low, almost reverent voice. "Do you think that these beings dangerous?"

Haruhiko closed his eyes, shutting out the room, the stars, even Mikuro. Friend or foe? He couldn't remember that much. "I don't know," he whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Thursday, Day Four:**

The itinerary looked good. Jinpachi tucked the page into his notebook, barely hearing the buzz of excitement as his classmates discussed their upcoming trip. He'd never really cared one way or another about Hokkaido, until he found out that Alice used to live there. He could tell by the light in her eyes when they discussed the trip that she was excited to be going back.

He was relieved that, this year, it had been decided that all of the senior classes would be taking a trip together, rather than individually. This was the second year in a row that Alice had been separated from him and Issei; this trip might just make the year more bearable.

It wasn't that he still liked her.

Well, he did, but in the past twelve months it had become pretty clear just where things stood between Alice and him. To be blunt, Kobayashi Rin stood between them. It was strange to acknowledge that he'd been beat out by a little kid, but reincarnation did that to people.

Lately he'd stopped dwelling so much about it, but the idea of this trip--a week with Alice and no Rin in sight. Even Issei's hot-and-cold behavior wasn't enough to dampen his enthusiasm.

"Jinpachi." Issei crouched next to his desk, resting his elbows on the smooth wood. "I just talked with Sakaguchi. She talked to Kasama yesterday, but didn't have any luck persuading him to come by." He combed his hair nervously with his fingers. "He did give us some names, though. Along with Nadeshiko, he knows of someone named Ayame and a Sarches named Hinagiku."

"Only three of them?" Jinpachi frowned. Three seemed like a tiny crew. "Does Kasama know if they're coming here?"

Issei shook his head, pushing his hand through the flop of hair over his forehead. Jinpachi wondered he realized that Enju used to do that, too, when she was nervous. "If so, Sakaguchi didn't say anything about it. We can ask her tomorrow night."

"Wow--aliens coming to Earth. . . it really makes our trip to Hokkaido look kind of ordinary, huh?" Jinpachi scratched his head. It was almost too much to think about.

Sakura leaned against the door as Issei hurried to tie his shoes. "Come on," she urged. "My train leaves in an hour!"

He smiled. She said she'd come to Tokyo to shop for books, but ended up on Issei's doorstep instead. It was funny that she could be in such a hurry, just for a brief walk to the river and back. They'd be back at his house within fifteen minutes--plenty of time for her to get to the train station. "What's the rush?" He laughed as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Daisuke called me this morning," Sakura explained as they stepped out into the cool evening. "He's coming home from school--he lied and claimed there was a sickness in his family. Anyway, he'll be back for a week and a half." She looked up at the sky, which was deep blue with twilight and too cloudy for stars. Zipping up her light jacket, she smiled. "Let's just hope that Nadeshiko shows up soon, or he'll have to go back and miss it all."

"I had another dream," Issei began, wondering why he never really told her about them before. "It was kind of a memory, about Nadeshiko and Enju. I guess we went to school together."

Sakura screwed up her face into an unpleasant grimace. "I sure don't remember her, and I went to college with you. Are you sure your brain's not playing tricks on you?"

Issei laughed. "No, this was before college. We were teenagers. In the dream, we were fixing our hair for a party of some sort. I was jealous because her hair was so pretty and shiny." He laughed again, remembering Enju's wistfulness as she looked at Nadeshiko's pale blonde curled locks. Now he understood his little sister's petulance about her hair. "I think Shusuran had the right idea," he commented, running a hand through his own dark hair. "Keep it short!"

"She always loved Enju's looks," Sakura commented softly. "She always loved how long and silky her hair was, how feminine and soft she looked." Issei noticed a faint blush over his friend's cheeks. She seemed embarrassed for talking so openly. "Maybe that's why I ended up looking just like her!" she rationalized quickly, looking away.

He'd noticed. That was the first thing he'd noticed about Sakura; it was as though a mirror of his former self was being held before him. Without even meaning to, he reached out and touched Sakura's fine hair. It was smooth, soft. Nicer than Enju's.

Sakura froze. They were still a block away from the river, on a quiet street lined with single-family homes. She didn't look back at him, didn't move, just stood there, eyes-closed, as he stroked her hair. Issei hurriedly pulled his hand away, upset with himself for touching her without permission and making her uncomfortable.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I--I didn't mean to--"

"It's okay," she whispered. "I like it." She bowed her head, not opening her eyes. "You've never really touched me before."

He didn't consider himself a touchy-feely sort of person, not like Jinpachi, who was always grabbing hands or patting shoulders. He was too reserved. He wondered what it was about Sakura that made him do it without even thinking. He looked at her flushed cheeks and long lashes, her face almost obscured by her long smooth hair. Maybe it was because she looked like Enju. "I'm sorry," he apologized again. This was a new area for him; he wasn't used to being awkward with Sakura.

"I told you," she said again. "Don't be." She spun around, suddenly looking Issei in the face and leaning a little too close. She grinned, a lopsided, goofy sort of smile that he'd never seen before. "I liked it. You should touch me more often."

Even as Issei was trying to think of an answer for that, she tipped forward and pressed her mouth to his. Her lips were soft and warm, her breath sweet and hot against his skin. He shuddered, confused and excited at the same time. Grasping her shoulders, he meant to push away, but found himself pulling her closer, answering her kiss with a yearning that startled him.

A yearning that alarmed him. This was Sakura. His heart pounding, Issei tore away from the kiss, shoving her away abruptly. This was all wrong. He couldn't let his loneliness complicate things with Sakura. He needed her friendship too much.

"Issei?" She sounded hurt.

"I--I'm sorry," he said slowly. He closed his eyes; he couldn't look at her. He was ashamed of his own reactions, of his selfish response. "I didn't mean to--"

A tiny noise cut him off, made him look sharply toward her. His heart stopped. She made another little hiccupping noise as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Forget it," she said with forced cheerfulness. Sakura smiled through her tears. "Please, just forget it."

Before he could answer, she turned on her heel and began to run way. As she turned, Issei felt a stab of what must have been her emotions. His chest felt like it was being pressed in a vice.

"Sakura!" He took a few steps in pursuit. How could he let her cry like that? How could he make her feel that bad? "SAKURA!" he bellowed, not caring if his yells disturbed the whole neighborhood.

"I've gotta go!" she called back, waving frantically. "I'll see you at Jinpachi's tomorrow!"

Defeated, Issei leaned against a nearby tree. His pulse throbbed in his ears and he felt like he was choking on his own heart. "Damn it!" he whispered, tears stinging his eyes.

Almost everyone around him was asleep or reading. Daisuke listened to music from his portable CD player, his bag on the floor at his feet. This late at night, most of the travelers were businessmen, eager to get an early start on the morning's meetings. He was the only teenager on board, if for no other reason than that no kid in their right mind would be on a train at 4 o'clock in the morning on a school night. As it was, he knew he should be asleep; an absence from school was no excuse for a break from routine.

But there was no way he could sleep, even if he wanted to. He turned off the reading light and stared out the window as the countryside zipped by. It was impossible to make out anything in the darkness, so he turned his eyes upward. Stars and moon seemed still in the sky, making it possible for his gaze to linger.

According to Ogura and Sakura, someone was out there, probably coming to Earth. Just the thought sent a thrill through his body, almost as powerful as when he first heard Ogura say the words. This was probably the greatest thing to ever happen to mankind, and he was going to be there, in the middle of it.

"Nadeshiko," he whispered, testing the name. He wondered if she remembered him, if his new form would surprise her. Daisuke studied his pale reflection in the glass. His old rival would have aged, he realized, while he was even younger than before. The thought made him smile.


	5. Chapter 5

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Friday, Day Five:**

Issei was the first to arrive that afternoon. He stood at the door, bags of junk food in his hands, smiling cheerfully as Jinpachi invited him in.

It reminded Jinpachi of how things used to be, when they'd spend as much time at each other's houses as at their own. It'd been a long time since Issei had come over for a purely social reason. Jinpachi had to admit that he kind of missed hanging out.

"Ready to try that telepathy?" he asked, leading Issei up the stairs to his room.

Issei grimaced. "No," he admitted. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Closing the door to his bedroom, Jinpachi glanced at the clock. "We have almost forty minutes before the others show up," he said. "Wanna practice?"

Issei sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, looking uneasy. "Practice?" His voice shook. "On you?"

"Sure," he sprawled out on the carpet, resting his head on his duffel bag. "Why not? That way you'll have some clue how to go about it when the others get here." He peered up at Issei, silently begging his friend just to do this without getting weird. It used to be that they shared everything. Gyokuran and Enju put a stop to that pretty quickly.

The other boy smiled weakly, pushing his hand through his hair. "I guess it won't hurt to try," he amended, lying back on the pillows. "But you have to close your eyes."

Jinpachi did as he was bid.

At first nothing happened. Jinpachi shifted on the floor. He scratched his head, peeking through his eyelashes at his friend. He could just see his face over the edge of the bed. He seemed to be concentrating hard. Maybe Jinpachi should focus, too.

He closed his eyes again, trying to open his mind. He thought of all the things he'd wanted to share with Issei over the past year--the things he'd had to keep to himself because of their new awkwardness. He imagined opening his head and letting all of those thoughts spill out to his friend.

Warmth.

Jinpachi almost jumped with the first yellow warmth that flooded into him. He recognized this. It was Enju. She filled all of the crevices of him, making him warm all over.

_Gyokuran? Gyo, can you hear me?_

Jinpachi nodded, realizing too late that Issei couldn't see him. "Uh, yeah," he mumbled instead.

He'd forgotten how familiar it was, how often he and Enju had played at this. Memories tumbled over him and through him.

He remembered kicking her under the table, reacting to a mental joke at Hiiragi's expense. He could almost hear her laughter, even as she squirmed aside to miss his kick.

He remembered being sick and too tired to talk, how Enju sat by his side, holding his hand and reading his thoughts out loud so the others would know what he wanted.

He remembered her hands in his hair, her skin against--

_Jinpachi! What are you thinking about?!_

Issei. The doors into Jinpachi's mind fell shut. "Well," he said nervously, half-afraid to open his eyes. "Looks like you remember how to do it, huh?"

"Yeah," Issei mumbled.

Jinpachi opened his eyes and looked at his friend. He was sitting up on the bed. Issei's face was bright red and he looked down at his hands in his lap. Jinpachi looked away quickly, realizing that his own face was flushed and his breathing was shallow.

"Um, sorry . . . about that . . . ."

Issei laughed it off, his voice shaking. "Don't worry about it," he said lightly. "That kind of thing can happen, I guess."

"Issei." Jinpachi knew his voice sounded too serious, but he couldn't help it. He clambered to his knees and leaned on the bed, looking his friend hard in the face. "Don't you think it's time we talk about this?" His face somehow burned hotter, and he clenched his hands in the comforter to keep them from trembling.

He was tired of letting Enju and Gyokuran get between them. Maybe it was time to face the past, once and for all.

Issei didn't say anything, but his expression looked panicked.

"You know as well as I do that we can't continue this way."

There was a sudden rapping at the door an instant before it was flung open. Jinpachi dived away from the bed, his heart thudding in his chest. Issei sat up straighter, pushing his hair away from his eyes. Both breathed unnaturally hard.

Sakura stood in the doorway, her eyes narrowing at them. "I guess I'm early," she said stiffly.

"Ayame!"

The lovely doctor wiped dust from a chair with her finger. "Yes, Captain?"

Nadeshiko peered over the control panel, trying to ignore the wispy hair slipping from its topknot as she leaned. "While I try to switch on the main power, take a flashlight and look for the others. They seem to have a small generator working now, but I'm having some trouble connecting with the main supply." She wrinkled her nose as she wiped a sheet of dust from the panel. "This place looks completely abandoned. They must have secluded themselves to one or two rooms."

"Not exactly what we expected, is it?" Hinagiku had to duck through the low doorway, his broad shoulders filling the space easily. His long red hair was tied back in a low ponytail and the dots that marked him as a Sarjalian seemed more pronounced in the dim light. "The way weeds and vines have covered this place, I'm surprised that anything still works. Would you like me to accompany you?" he asked Ayame with a smile.

Nadeshiko didn't like the look of that smile. "Stay with me," she suggested quickly. "You can work on the computers at the other end. The sooner we get this place up and running, the sooner we can all get to work."

Ayame grinned, her eyes flashing. "Looks like housekeeping will be our first priority," she commented, fixing a ventilation mask over her mouth and nose. "I realize that they probably thought they were all alone in the universe, but this is terrible!" With a chuckle, she flipped the switch on her flashlight and headed out the far door.

Hinagiku walked up behind Nadeshiko, wrapping his arms around her affectionately. "This place looks ancient, Nadeshiko," he observed. "Are you sure you were in contact with Enju?"

She leaned into his arms for a moment before pulling away to get back to work. "Positive. She didn't seem to be able to answer strongly, so I suspect I was contacting her through dreams, but I'm sure it was her. I've known Enju since we were kids--there's no way I was mistaken." Nadeshiko tried to override the key words in the computer, using a code programmed into the main system on the home planet. The code had been written into all of the projects computers, including the two other stations they'd visited first. "It should work here, too," she murmured to herself, disappointed when the screen flashed a denied access icon.

Hinagiku was typing on the opposite console, hard at work searching for access to the main power. Nadeshiko didn't understand how the weak generator could have supported seven people for this long--she had her doubts that it could handle the three of them. "Apparently someone has overridden the original network," Hinagiku growled at her, upset with the unfamiliar pattern of connections. "It had to take years, but it looks like someone went through and reprogrammed every system."

Ayame burst through the door, breathless as she tore the mask from her face. "They're all dead!" she cried, flinging the flashlight onto a chair. "There were six in the hibernation chambers, perfectly preserved, and a skeleton in the observation room." She pushed her hair from her forehead, clenching the short locks in her fist in frustration. "You said they were alive!" She looked at Nadeshiko accusingly. "You said you reached Enju!"

Nadeshiko didn't like hearing that tone from her subordinate, no matter how long they'd worked together. "I did!" she insisted, standing up suddenly. "At least four times, I reached her!" The last two bases they'd visited had been abandoned. In one case the crew had committed suicide in their capsules, in the other they'd apparently left to assimilate themselves into the planet's population. This case was different. It _had _to be. She'd connected with Enju. "How long have they been dead?"

Ayame looked disgusted. "Hmm . . . let's see," she began sarcastically. "One of them is a dry skeleton, so I'd imagine it's been somewhere between a week and twenty years!"

The captain was about to reply when Hinagiku lifted his hand, silently asking for a momentary truce. "Fighting amongst ourselves will get us nowhere," he reminded them gently. "We must find out how to get the life-support systems up, or we'll die within a few days. We have no more options. Why don't you try to reach her again, right now?" He looked at Nadeshiko kindly, and she wondered if he doubted her, too.

"But Ayame saw--"

He shook his head. "Ayame saw seven bodies. Did you recognize anyone?"

She nodded. "An old friend of mine," she said quietly. "We trained together. I don't know the others, though."

The Sarjalian smiled. "See? Enju may not even be among them." He nodded encouragingly at Nadeshiko, his eyes holding hers lovingly. "Go ahead and try."

The blonde smiled weakly at her lover, then flicked her eyes briefly to where Ayame stood, arms crossed in irritation. She closed her eyes, remembering Enju's smile, her voice, her presence. As children they'd played together and gone to school together--Nadeshiko would never mistake the unique patterns of the telepath's brainwaves. Enju was out there, somewhere.

It took just a moment, just a heartbeat before she received her friend's bright flash of answering awareness. "The planet," she whispered in wonder, opening her eyes and walking to an observation window. "Enju is down there, on the Earth."

Issei closed his eyes, concentrating on his faint memories of the girl Enju grew up with. In his mind, his telepathy was weak, vague. He'd never used it for anything deliberately. He peeked at the others through his lashes. Daisuke looked excited. His eyes gleamed and he'd been smiling all evening.

Jinpachi's face was more serious, his brow tense with effort, as though he were trying to help Issei concentrate. The telepath smiled. How easy it would be to invade the other boy's mind, to feel what he felt when his guard was so completely dropped. They'd come close to _something _that afternoon, and Issei half-wished that they could be alone again to sort it out.

A sharp pain chastised him. Issei turned his eyes toward Shion. Rin glared at him through narrowed eyes, obviously noticing the stray of his thoughts. For an instant he wondered why Rin wasn't doing this telepathy work, since he was clearly talented in reading minds. Closing his eyes again, Issei reached outward, blindly searching for the girl he'd known so well in his other lifetime.

His consciousness flitted past the minds of the others in the room. Alice was full of dread. She was afraid of Nadeshiko and what she might bring to earth. Sakura's mind was open to him--almost too open. Issei skirted around her consciousness, afraid of what he'd find if he looked for more than an instant. For a startling moment, he thought he felt Shukkaido. The boy had refused, again, to join them at this meeting, but apparently he was out there, somewhere, still open to Enju's communion. Issei hoped he'd be listening in tonight. He hoped he'd get in touch with Nadeshiko and convince Haruhiko to join them.

Suddenly he felt a caress--the intimate touch of another telepath's mind melding with his own. It was familiar. Comfortable. In this lifetime, Issei had never met another like him, another who could reach inside of him and touch him like that, but now, as Enju, he remembered how it felt to communicate without words, to know another's mind in the same depth he knew his own.

_Nadeshiko._ He knew it was her--she was sending memories of a childhood swimming lesson, of the boys that they'd gigged over as they paddled in their water wings.

_Enju. You are awake._ He could feel Nadeshiko's smile. _I knew you must still be alive, but why are you on Earth, and who are the seven that lie here, dead?  
_  
Her questions had no answer--not one he knew how to give. He attempted to explain, showing her images of his new life, his birth and childhood.

_I don't understand. Who is this boy?_

The connection was starting to hurt. Issei tried again, remembering the sickness at the moon base, the deaths of Enju's friends. _We have been reborn. We are not the same, but we carry the memory and consciousness of our past. I am Issei. I am also Enju.  
_  
Nadeshiko's confusion blurred his mind in a rush of muted colors. There was urgency behind her message, trouble and possible danger.

_You must come to the moon. We have desperate need of all seven of you. We will not live much longer without your help. _ She sent images of the cold research station, dim and nearly powerless, slowly growing colder. Even the precious oxygen-producing plants would die, leaving them with nothing. _The system has been rewired. Nothing works. Enju please, find the others and come help us._


	6. Chapter 6

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Saturday, Day Six:**

Jinpachi had to cut his last class to get to Haruhiko's school in time. He waited only a few minutes before the students came pouring from the building. He hoped Haru didn't have any club activities or clean-up duty that day. He felt conspicuous in his different uniform and didn't want to wait too long.

He wasn't disappointed. Haruhiko came out alone, carrying a few oversized library books under his arm in addition to the book bag slung over his shoulder. He wondered if he needed them for a school project. Jinpachi shook his head. He never had time for any reading outside of studying; it didn't seem fair to make a kid read more.

"Kasama!" he called out as soon as the boy was close enough. "Kasama Haruhiko!" He waved frantically, trying to ignore the snickers of some pretty girls who walked past.

Haru walked over slowly, obviously not excited about seeing Jinpachi there. He shifted his books uncomfortably and looked at the ground. "Can't you just leave me alone?" he mumbled, walking past.

Jinpachi followed him, frustrated at the boy's lack of interest. "Shukkaido, just listen to me, will ya?" He picked up his pace as Haruhiko walked faster. "I won't bother you again; just let me explain!"

"Lovers' quarrel," a girl on the street commented snidely to her friend. Jinpachi pretended not to hear, narrowing his eyes as he focused his determination.

"Shukkaido! It's not like we're just doing this to annoy you! It's important to us! It should be important to you, too!"

Haruhiko whirled on him, his face a mask of anger. "Stop it," he threatened in a low voice. "I'm not Shukkaido anymore, and I won't be ruled by his life!" He took a deep breath and Jinpachi wondered if he'd have to fight. "I had enough of this last year--just tell Shion to let it go already!"

"Shion?" Jinpachi was starting to get angry himself. "You think I'm here because that brat told me to come?" He laughed bitterly. "I'm here because people's lives are in danger!"

By Haruhiko's wide eyes and sudden intake of breath, it was clear that Jinpachi finally had his attention. "The others on the moon--Nadeshiko, Ayame, and Hinagiku--they're going to die unless we get there to help them."

Haru dropped his head, clenching his eyes shut. Jinpachi almost felt sorry for him. He put his hand on Haru's shoulder. "Hiiragi suggested we all try to teleport out there." He looked to the sky, where the faint outline of the daytime moon was white against the blue. He tried to imagine there were people up there, waiting to be rescued. "It'll be hard," he admitted, squinting at the pale satellite, "but we've got to try."

The boy pulled away from Jinpachi, shaking his head. "No," he said firmly. "I won't be part of this. I'm not Shukkaido, so I can't help you." He backed up a few steps. "And even if I wanted to, " he laughed nervously, "I couldn't. I can hardly teleport to Kyoto; a trip to the moon would kill me."

"So you'll be there? You'll meet me at the river?" Issei's voice sounded strained and unnatural. It made Sakura uneasy, but what could she do? If she refused to see him, their friendship would be ruined. That wasn't what she'd wanted when she kissed him.

"I'll be there," she agreed softly, glancing in the mirror as she brushed her hair. "But Issei, I don't think--"

"You know we need to talk, Shusuran," he said urgently. "I don't want to put this off any longer. Please," his voice softened, and for a moment he sounded more like his usual self. "This means a lot to me."

Sakura hung up the phone. She stared at her face in the mirror and thought about not going. She didn't want to hear him say that he didn't think of her that way. She didn't want to see the awkwardness in his expression as he explained about Jinpachi and Enju and everything she'd heard a dozen times before.

She was in love with him.

It wasn't Enju or Shusuran this time. It wasn't just old emotions re-establishing themselves. She wanted Issei's arms around her, wanted to spend her life listening to his sweet jokes and gentle words. She wanted him to protect her, shelter her the way Shusuran always tried to shelter Enju. When she closed her eyes she saw Issei. She knew every angle and expression of his beautiful face, his soft eyes and silky hair. She knew how his broad shoulders felt when she put her arm around him, how his breath came in tiny gasps when he cried. She'd learned the shape of his hands, how they trembled that last time when he touched her hair.

She'd thought that meant something.

Sakura tied her hair into a ponytail and went to find her shoes. The afternoon was warm, so she left her jacket hanging on its peg. Leaving a note for her mother, she slipped out the door.

The train ride was too short; when she reached her stop, Sakura had hardly begun to sort through what she intended to say to him. She edged her way through the crowded terminal and out into the yellow sunlight.

He'd kissed her back. Sakura felt a fleeting sense of lightheadedness at the memory. He'd grasped her shoulders, pulled her close so their bodies touched. Then he'd kissed back, turning her quick press of lips into a full meeting of mouths. Why would he do that, if he weren't attracted to her, if he didn't feel that way? She touched her lips softly, remembering how warm his breath was, how urgent his kiss had become.

So why this, now? Why was he still pushing her away when it was so clear that he needed her as much as she needed him?

The sun was setting by the time she reached the tall banks of the river. Sunbeams like golden fingers stretched over the water. It reminded Sakura of the portrait of Sarjalim that had been on the moon base; it had been in front of that picture that Enju first told Shusuran about sleeping with Gyokuran.

Issei was waiting, sitting in the shaggy grass, his back to the path as he stared out over the river. "Shusuran," he murmured, not turning to look at her.

Sakura sat beside him, close enough to touch, if she leaned a bit toward him. She could almost feel the warmth from his bare forearms. She wished she could take his hand, twine her fingers around his so that he would lose the courage and the inclination to say what she knew he wanted to say.

"Shusuran, I'm glad you came," he began softly, his eyes focused on the distant trees on the far bank.

Sakura flinched at his formal tone. "Why 'Shusuran?'" she wanted to know. "For months you've used my real name--don't get weird on me now!"

He finally turned to look at her. His eyes were full of emotion--pain. "How can I not get weird?" he asked sadly. "You're my best friend."

A flash of anger followed his words. Sakura couldn't let him throw this all out of proportion. "And you're Jinpachi's best friend," she reminded him high-handedly. "You didn't let that stop you!"

His eyes were suddenly strained, and she was ashamed.

He looked at his shoes, tugging at the laces idly. "This isn't about Jinpachi, or the way I feel about him." He tossed a stone into the water. "It's about how I feel--or don't feel--about you."

"I love you," Sakura admitted suddenly. She didn't want to hear the rest of Issei's speech; she didn't want to hear the rejection he'd probably edited a thousand times to make it hurt less. Any way he said it, it'd feel the same. "I love you," she repeated softly.

He was quiet for what seemed like forever. Sakura's heart was pounding. A part of her wondered if her words meant something to him, if they were changing his mind. She tried not to hope for it even as excitement rushed through her right alongside the fear.

When he finally answered, his voice was shaking. "You're making this harder."

He stood and walked away from her, only to pause after a few steps to stare out over the water. "When you kissed me," he began, not looking at her, "I reacted very badly. I shouldn't have--" A painful-looking blush flooded his cheeks. "I didn't mean to mislead you."

Sakura's heart felt like it weighed twenty pounds. She got up and went to him, leaning her forehead between his shoulder blades, otherwise not touching him at all. "Don't say anything else," she whispered; she felt like crying but tried to hold those feelings in check. She watched Issei's hands curl into fists, then release slowly. She could feel the warmth of his body through his T-shirt, smell the delicious scent of him. "I couldn't bear it," she continued, losing the fight with her tears, "if you said another word."

"Sakura!" His voice was strained, almost desperate.

But she wasn't finished. If she didn't say everything, she'd spend the rest of her life wondering if she should've. "If you can't love me, even a little, then go ahead and say so. I won't bother you again." She took a deep breath, pushing down the sob that threatened to break into her words. "But think of that kiss. Think of your reaction. Think of me." She felt his body start to shake, then noticed that she was trembling too. "If you think you can care for me, even the tiniest bit, then let me love you, Issei. Don't make me give up."

She closed her eyes and waited, keeping her head down even when Issei stepped away. She instantly regretted her rash words, not wanting to give up, even if he said he'd love Jinpachi to the end of time.

He surprised her with his embrace. Her eyes flew open as he enfolded her in his arms, pressing her tightly against him. She could feel his heart pounding, its thumps shadowing her own. "Sakura," he murmured, smoothing her hair with his hands. "You've got me all jumbled inside." She felt his tears through her hair, running down his cheeks and onto her head. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, pressing her cheek against his neck. "I don't know what I feel, suddenly."

She felt like smiling, but cried instead. "Give me time to help you figure it out," she whispered, twisting her fingers in the loose fabric of his shirt. His arms were warm and strong around her, and his chest was solid against her body. She could stand like that forever, and never get tired of it. "Please don't push me away."

He tightened his arms and sighed into her hair. "I'm not."

Haruhiko's hands were shaking as he dialed the unfamiliar number. He was crazy. He shouldn't even be considering what he was considering. He couldn't offer these people anything worth having--Shukkaido had done terrible things.

Why did they still want him?

The phone on the other end rang four times. Haru was about to hang up when a voice answered. "Yeah? Yakushimaru here."

"Mikuro?" Haru's voice shook. "This is Kasama Haruhiko."

"Haru!" There was a scuffling sort of scramble on the other end as Mikuro fumbled for a more comfortable hold on the telephone. "What's up?"

How did he explain? Haruhiko knew that Mikuro didn't like Shion and the others. He was there last year, to witness, and take home, some of the pain that Kobayashi Rin was capable of doling out. He had protected Haru, without even asking why. Assuming Shion was the bad guy.

Now he knew better.

"I need your help," he offered after an awkward pause. "My--friends from the moon, they need help. They say they need me." He hated the impersonal buzz of the telephone; it made this harder. "But you know what I did . . . ."

"No," Mikuro interjected, his quiet voice firm. "I know what _Shukkaido _did. You had nothing to do with that, Haruhiko. Nothing."

"But--"

Mikuro sighed; Haru fell silent. "You and Shukkaido, you're not the same person. You're better than that. You're better than all of them--especially that Shion guy--because you know the difference between now and then."

"I'm not Shukkaido," Haru whispered. It had been almost a mantra for him in the past year, but he'd never really believed it. Now he realized. That was why he had to help. "I'm not Shukkaido," he repeated with more confidence.

"Right," Mikuro sounded almost pleased.

Haru continued, his voice rising in pitch. "It means I have to help them. Shukkaido might've been able to do nothing as people died, but I can't. I won't make that same mistake twice!"

Mikuro coughed, maybe choking on something on his end of the connection. "What? Haruhiko, are you nuts? You don't have any obligations to these people. You're free to walk away! _That's_ what it means when we say you're not Shukkaido."

"No!" Haruhiko was emphatic. "Don't you see? That's a coward's argument. That's how Shukkaido would have reasoned it. This is my chance to atone, to show everyone that Kasama Haruhiko is different."

"Haru, no," Mikuro groaned.

"Yes! Come with me, Mikuro," he pleaded. "I can't face them alone. Come with me and back me up. Please?"

"You want me to go to one of these meetings?"

"I'll lose my nerve if you don't." Haru's heart was thumping so hard that his whole chest hurt. For the first time, though, it felt as though he were doing something right. Ayame. He remembered her. He'd cared about her. Was it right for him to look the other way while she might be dying?

No. It was no more right than giving Shion that vaccine, knowing that Mokuren would soon die and leave him alone.

"Please, Mikuro," he urged one last time. "I need you."


	7. Chapter 7

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Sunday, Day Seven:**

Mikuro was uneasy as he and Haruhiko climbed the long flight of stairs to Ogura Jinpachi's room. The boy's mother had let them in with a smile, directing them toward the "party" in her son's room. He didn't know why Haru had decided to come. After everything these people had done to him, Mikuro would sooner Haru never saw them again. Especially that kid--Shion.

His friend was nervous. Mikuro could see it in the way Haru ran his hand through his hair before knocking, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes just before his fist fell lightly on the closed door.

"Just a second, Ma!" A teenaged voice called out. The door opened suddenly. "I told you, we don't need--"

The loud-mouthed boy stopped short, his face distorted into a comical expression of shock. "Shu--Shukkaido?" he asked, disbelieving. "Wow! Shukkaido's here!"

They were ushered into the room. Mikuro felt protective of his vulnerable friend, lingering close behind him as everyone issued startled greetings.

"This," Haru's soft voice said hesitantly, "is my friend, Mikuro." He blushed at everyone's shocked expressions. "Don't worry--he knows all about the moon base--it's okay."

Mikuro looked blandly from one face to another. It seemed to be an ordinary sort of group. One boy was even better looking than Haru, but otherwise, no one seemed particularly special. There were only two girls in the group; Mikuro nodded to them as Haru introduced them--Mokuren and Shusuran. The boys were Hiiragi, Gyokuran, Enju, and Shion. Mikuro's eyes lingered on the youngest boy, Shion. He was leaning on the dark-haired girl, a serious look on his face. His eyes flicked up to Mikuro's, and the older boy saw both recognition and shame in them.

Looking back at the others, Mikuro sat down with Haru. He didn't trust the apology in Shion's eyes, but it was Haruhiko's opinion that mattered, not his.

"We were just talking about the plausibility of travel to the moon," the responsible-looking fellow named Hiiragi said, his eyes smiling at both of them. "Nadeshiko said she needed all seven of us, so we were wondering if there was a way for the non-ESPers to be carried by those with power."

"I think it's possible," Shion added. "I've never carried anyone during a teleport, but I know that I have plenty of energy left over." He smiled at the others. "A few practice trips to other cities should confirm that."

The group began to chatter, discussing the time restraints, the probability of failure. It was clear to Mikuro that they'd discovered next to nothing about their powers. Teleporting to Kyoto was one thing, but the moon? He doubted it was possible.

"How many of you are ESPers?" he asked suddenly, his quiet voice cutting through their conversations. "I know Shion and Haru--but who else?"

Gyokuran beamed. "I am," he announced proudly. "So are Enju and Mokuren."

The dark-haired girl--Mokuren--spoke up. "But Nishikori--Enju is a telepath, and I've never tried teleportation." She bit her lip, seeming very afraid of the situation. Shaking her head at Gyokuran, she declared softly, "I don't think you should count on us."

"And you can barely control your power," Enju chimed in, looking at Gyokuran with concern. "How do you know you'll be able to teleport yourself, much less someone else?"

Mikuro studied each of their eager faces, wondering how people could stumble so blindly when their lives were at risk. "Just two then--for a group of seven. Impossible." He put his hand on Haru's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Besides, this one can't teleport anywhere--doctor's orders. That leaves just you." He shook his head, eyeing Shion suspiciously. "There's no way you'd make it."

Gyokuran's face got very red. "How would you know?" he burst out. "You don't know the first thing about this!"

Mikuro crossed his arms, saying nothing. He wished he'd never offered to come with Haru. It looked like the whole group was going to be a pain.

"He's an ESPer too," Haruhiko defended suddenly. "He's as powerful as any of us, I think!" He looked up at Mikuro and smiled. "He knows a lot about teleportation." He stood up, walking to the window. "Anyway, I think he's right. I can't go, and there's no way Shion can take everyone else, even if you do manage to help, Gyokuran." He looked up at the moon--just a sliver now--in the deep blue sky. "I don't think any of us should go. I don't trust them. I'm suspicious about why they want to see us."

Mikuro was pleased with his friend's decision. He couldn't see how aliens coming to Earth could be a good thing. He noticed Mokuren nodding slowly, her eyes never leaving Haru's face. Apparently he wasn't the only one with sense.

"Then I'll go alone." Shion jumped to his feet, pacing back and forth across the room. "Nadeshiko said that the computers had been hacked into and altered. Shion did that." He glanced around the room, but his gaze settled on Mokuren. "I think I can fix it, and I can see what they want."

"Rin! No!" Mokuren cried, almost dropping her bottle of juice. Mikuro looked away, embarrassed the desperation he heard in her voice. "You can't go all by yourself!

"You can't stop me," Shion answered, the coldness in his voice sending shivers down Mikuro's spine. It had been a year since he'd heard that tone, but he remembered it perfectly. Shion meant business. "I'm leaving tomorrow night, from the Tokyo tower, and since no one else can help me, I'm going alone."

Alice carried her jacket home, rather than wearing it. She would've enjoyed the warmth of the early-summer evening, but she was too distressed to notice. Her mind was clouded by images of Rin making it to the moon, but finding it to be a trap. Or worse, him lost all alone between Earth and the moon. The possibilities made her feel sick to her stomach.

Rin was uncharacteristically quiet that night, too. He walked silently, is eyes focused straight ahead and his face expressionless. Alice suddenly wanted to know what he was thinking. How did a little boy deal with this kind of sporadic, rushed growing up? She had a thousand questions to ask him, but didn't know where to begin. He was closed up.

"I could just tell your mother," Alice said suddenly, feeling desperate to stop him from leaving. "I could tell her that you plan to skip your school's camping trip to run away by yourself for a week."

Rin looked up at her, his eyes narrow. "You won't, though," he said confidently. "You know as well as I do that we can't just ignore them."

Alice couldn't answer. He was right, but not completely. Whenever Alice thought of them up there in the cold and the dark, possibly running out of air, she knew they should help them, but when she looked around on a night like this, smelling the honeysuckle and freshly cut grass, she wondered if saving the Earth meant letting them die. Mokuren had never known Ayame or Nadeshiko, but she'd known Hinagiku. Beyond the name, Alice couldn't remember anything about him, but whenever she thought of him, a sense of dread settled over her. She was afraid of him, but she couldn't remember why.

Rin seemed so small and defenseless, in spite of his growth spurt and confident manner. To Alice he was still the little boy he'd always been--still small enough to need protection. Rationally, she knew he was a powerful psychic. She knew he could out-think and out-fight a lot of people, but she remembered how he'd looked after that last time, bandaged from head to toe and so vulnerable.

"I won't let you go alone," she said quietly, not looking at him. If she had to hold on to him and refuse to let go, she wouldn't let him go alone.

"You'll be in Hokkaido," he reminded her. "Your class leaves tomorrow morning." He left the sidewalk and wandered into the park, leaving Alice to follow. "Besides," he called, sitting on a swing. "I can teleport whether you hold onto me or not."

She sat on the swing next to him, dragging her feet in the dusty sand. "Then I'll learn to teleport too," she announced recklessly. She knew it wasn't likely, but she'd spend the next twenty-four hours practicing, if she had to. "Mokuren was a lot more powerful than Shion. If he could do it, then she must've been able to."

"No!" Rin's voice was low and his hands clenched the chains of the swings. "If the others can't come, then you can't either. I won't let you put yourself in danger like that!"

Alice looked up at him, startled. His mouth was twisted into a determined snarl and his eyes were fierce. "Rin?"

He turned toward her, his eyes wild. "Don't you think I know how scared you are of Hinagiku? Don't you think that I know he's dangerous?" He kicked the dust at his feet. "If Jinpachi and the others came, then I could count on them to watch out for you. By myself, I'm afraid that I won't be able to." His hands started to shake, making the chains rattle. "Damn it Alice, don't you see that I'm trying to protect you?"

Her chest hurt. "And can't you see," she asked softly, "that I just want to protect you, too?"

He looked away; his shoulders drooped. "I know," he whispered, using his feet to trace patterns in the sand beneath his swing. "But Alice," he looked at her, surprising her with the maturity and intensity in his expression, "you're everything to me. If you died--if somehow you got killed up there, then I wouldn't want to come home. I'd want to die there too." He took a deep breath, steadying his voice, which had begun to waver. "As long as you're here, I have a reason to come home."

Suddenly it was painful to breathe. Alice stared at him, trying to understand each detail of the moment--the pounding of her heart, the flutter in her stomach, the unmasked love in his eyes. He was part of her. When--how had this happened? How had this boy's love, this boy's life, become more important to her than her entire planet? "Don't go Rin," she urged him quietly, her voice cracking. "I don't care what happens to the moon base, to the Earth; please don't go."

Rin stood and walked the few steps separating them. He smiled softly. Pushing Alice's bangs from her forehead, he leaned down and pressed a kiss onto the spot above her eyebrows where Mokuren had her Kitche. "I'm going because you _do _care, Alice. Mokuren asked me to protect this planet, and your very existence here makes me want to do it. I'm going to the moon, Alice. Please don't try to stop me."

She watched as he turned and ran home through the darkness alone. She was stuck, frozen to the spot by her own helplessness. She lifted her hand to her face, touching the place of his kiss with her fingers. He wouldn't go alone.


	8. Chapter 8

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

By Angela

**Monday, Day Eight:**

It was morning. Haru hadn't slept. He had lay in bed for hours, watching the glow-in-the dark stars fade slowly, becoming invisible in the dark room only to reappear as dawn forced its way through the blinds. As Shukkaido, he remembered that sky--lying in the tall grass of his mother's yard, staring hard at the stars and wondering if he'd ever get to visit any of them, then deciding that being a doctor was better than being an astronaut. He couldn't have known, way back then, that he'd get to do both.

He was Shukkaido. He knew it wasn't just a dream and he knew it wasn't the kind of thing he could make himself forget. Just going to the meeting that night proved it. Part of him was happy to have seen the familiar faces--Enju, Shusuran, Hiiragi--he hadn't seen any of them in so long. The rest of him was ashamed.

They all knew what he'd done to Shion in his last days on the moon. They all knew everything about what had happened last year and why, but they still wanted him there. They still counted him as part of the group. It made him feel worse.

Didn't he owe it to them to help?

He thought of his dreams, the eerie feelings that something terrible would happen if they let the visitors go unchecked. Ayame. She'd been his friend, his lover for a short time. He wanted to see her. Nadeshiko and Hinagiku. He didn't know if they were friends or not. He couldn't decipher their intentions, but he remembered the panic on Alice Sakaguchi's face when she heard the name. Could he leave them and all their intentions in the hands of a nine-year-old child?

No. He wouldn't have Shion's life on his conscience. Not again.

Sitting up in bed, he reached for the phone. Mikuro would be getting ready for work by now, maybe in the shower or eating breakfast. After a few rings, the answering machine picked up.

"Mikuro? Hi. This is Haruhiko--Kasama Haruhiko. I just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to meet you and Tamura for lunch today, after all. I--I have a test to study for, so I'll be eating at school. Tell Tamura I'm sorry."

After hanging up the phone, Haru grabbed his biological warfare book from under the bed. If these aliens were planning what he suspected, he wanted to be prepared.

Sakura couldn't concentrate on a thing her teachers said. The clock on the wall seemed barely to move; even its second-hand seemed chronically lagging. It wasn't even lunchtime and it felt as though days had passed.

Shion was going to the moon that night.

Sakura wanted to go, too.

She thought she understood the problems of teleportation. Clearly, she'd have to convince Shion to take her with him. She'd probably have to beg--no, reason would be the only thing to work with that one. But the opportunity was too huge to pass up.

This was probably her only chance to go back. She wanted to go; to see for herself that her friends had been safely tucked away into their capsules; that the world hadn't fallen apart after she died. It was irrational, she knew.

But she wanted to see Enju, to touch the things she'd touched and confirm, once and for all, that it was Issei she wanted, rather than the memory of her dearest friend.

The bell rang for lunch.

"Sakura!" a friend called from across the room. "We're meeting Yuka and Akane in the courtyard. It's your turn to get drinks."

Sakura made up her mind. "I'm sorry, Tomoko," she said, shoving her notebook into her satchel. "I'm not feeling well. I think I'm going home." She folded her arms close to her stomach and tried to look pale. "My mother's been sick for the past week," she added, her mind spinning ahead. "I wonder if I caught what she has."

Her friends, concerned as they were, stepped back. Sakura almost smiled. Of course they cared about her, but not enough to get themselves ill. If Shion refused to take her with him, she could always declare it a false alarm, but on the off chance he gave in, she'd have a group of alibis to tell the teacher she'd been really sick.

She said goodbye and left the classroom, taking pains to walk slowly. She explained her situation to her homeroom teacher on the way out and managed to curb her exuberance until she passed out of the school's gate.

Finally free, Sakura broke into a run. She had to call Daisuke and work out a story that would convince her mother that it was all right for her to be gone for a while. She considered trying to reach Issei, but he'd left for Hokkaido that morning, along with Jinpachi and Alice.

Oh well. They said that absence made the heart grow fonder, right?

Let Issei miss her.

Alice unlocked the door and slipped inside, careful to make as little noise as possible. Her mother and father were at work, and Hajime was at school, but if Rin's mother were to notice that she was home, she'd be sure to say something about it later.

She crept to her room and changed out of the shorts and polo shirt her school required for the field trip. She'd spent the morning hiding out, browsing through bookstores and flower shops to pass the time until it was safe to come home. She stashed her duffle bag in the back of her closet. It would be a disaster if her mother or Hajime found it before the week was up.

Rin was going to be furious. Alice closed her eyes, dreading the look of outrage on his face when he saw her. He was going to refuse to take her. He was going to rail and howl and insist she go home.

But she wouldn't.

She went out to the balcony.

"Hello everyone," she whispered, crouched low so Mrs. Kobayashi wouldn't see her. "I'm leaving for a while," she told the plants fondly. They leaned close as if to catch every quiet syllable. "But first I need some help."

She explained her difficulty about teleportation, half-hoping that the growing things of the world might somehow understand ESP better than she did. They hummed abstract encouragement back to her, but none had any real advice about how to harness Mokuren's abilities.

_You are strong, _a fern whispered.

_You must believe in your power, _the tall palm added, its voice the barest impression in her mind.

Alice sighed. It wasn't useful at all, but her plants' faith in her was encouraging. She left the house as carefully as she had come, trying to look inconspicuous until she rounded the corner. She checked her watch. It was almost three; she had about six hours before it got dark. She'd just have to practice until then.

Except for a couple of incompetent night watchmen, the Tokyo tower was vacant. Rin had spent a busy day in the library, doing research on genetics and cloning. He'd forged a letter to his principal excusing him from the camping trip, using his mother's writing to explain a family emergency. With his family thinking he was with the school, and his school thinking he was with his family, he had an entire week accounted for. Six days to get to the moon, fix things, discover their intentions, and get home. Since he'd had to occupy himself the entire day, he thought some research would put him on more even footing with the enemy.

Enemy. He never said the word out loud--too afraid to scare Alice or the others. Too afraid that he was right about these aliens from the mother planet.

Now that it was dark--moonless due to the new moon's cycle--it was time to go. Pulling his baseball cap low over his eyes, he teleported to the top of the tower.

He was shocked to find the others already there. Alice, Jinpachi, Daisuke, Sakura, and Issei. To see him off? "What are you all doing here?" he asked, not masking the surprise in his voice. He turned to Alice. "Aren't you supposed to be in Hokkaido?" he demanded.

"I didn't learn teleportation after all," she confessed quietly, "but I couldn't just let you go by yourself." She looked at her feet, blushing. "I was going to make you take me."

Jinpachi grinned. "It seems that Sakaguchi, Issei and I all had the same plan," he explained sheepishly. "After I decided that the moon would make a better field trip than boring Hokkaido, I came up here and they were already waiting."

Daisuke nodded. "No one in my family even knows I'm in Tokyo," he explained. "I figured I should give it a try, since I had nothing better to do."

Rin was aghast, barely listening as Sakura described a similar epiphany. They really wanted to risk it? He thought Mikuro was right--even if Jinpachi could manage it, two teleporters couldn't carry the rest of them. He looked at Alice, who immediately looked away, staring down at the lights of the city. "You can't come with me," he said decidedly. "We might not even make it. With only two ESPers--"

"Three." Haruhiko appeared suddenly, smiling and barely breathing hard. "I'm coming too," he announced. He gave everyone a shy grin and looked seriously at Rin. "I know more about them than any of you," he said confidently. "Besides, you'll never make it as far as the moon without me."

Jinpachi was quick to interject, his face flushed red. "But what about your heart?" he demanded. "You said that it'd kill you, and that guy--"

"Mikuro's not a doctor," Haru said, keeping his voice light, "but I was. Don't you think I know more about my own heart condition than anyone else?" He turned to Daisuke. "You're in charge here, right, Hiiragi? You know you would never get there with just Shion and Gyokuran transporting. I can help."

Daisuke's firm expression didn't change. "I know what I can do," Haruhiko protested, getting frustrated. "Do you really think I'd come if I thought I wouldn't survive?"

Rin was speechless. He was pretty sure that Haruhiko was bluffing, that he had somehow made up his mind not to care if this killed him. He was impressed. A new respect for the older boy built itself inside of him, and he suddenly didn't think it would be right to deny him this chance to help the group.

"I agree," he announced, smiling as six pairs of shocked eyes turned to him. "Shukkaido would know his own limits, I think." He turned to Daisuke, lifting an eyebrow to ask for the official okay. "It's your mission, Captain; what do you think?"

Daisuke smiled, making Rin think that he was glad to be back in control of this adventure. "I think we'd be foolish to look a gift horse in the mouth," he said slowly. "You're sure?" He looked quizzically at Haruhiko. Haru nodded. "Then let's get going."

Rin let Daisuke organize the order of passage. He watched as Daisuke linked Jinpachi's hand with Issei's, Issei's with Alice's. Rin stepped up to take Alice's free hand, glad to see with Daisuke's nod that it was what the older boy had planned. On his other side, Sakura slid her fingers around his, smiling nervously down at him as Haruhiko grasped her other hand. Daisuke situated himself between Haru and Jinpachi, completing the circle.

"As you can see," Daisuke explained seriously, " we have a teleporter situated between all of the non-ESPers, myself included. Except that we didn't have anyone to fit between Mokuren and Enju, so you two have to concentrate the powers you do have and do your best to feed it to the others. Gyokuran," his voice was stern as he leveled his gaze on his neighbor. "Focus, okay?"

He smiled suddenly, a lopsided grin that seemed almost fatalistic to Rin. "I guess I'll see you all on the moon."

Rin focused his thoughts on the soft feeling of the skin of Alice's hand, the clenching strength of Sakura's. They were his responsibility. His power had to carry them both. He could see Haru and Jinpachi focusing similarly before closing his eyes.

"Wait!"

"Haru!"

Rin's eyes flew open just in time to see the elevator doors slide open. Two men burst out. "Haru!" Tamura's deep voice repeated urgently.

Mikuro reached his friend first, yanking his hands abruptly from Sakura's and Daisuke's. "You can't do this," he growled in a low voice.

Haruhiko pulled away, refusing to look at Mikuro or Tamura. "I can and I will. Please leave us alone."

Tamura grasped the boy's shoulders, giving him a hard shake. "I won't let you throw your life away like this," he said, his voice shaking. "I'm taking you home."

Haru twisted away, surprising both Tamura and Rin, who was watching closely. "No!" he insisted, clenching his fists. "I can do this. I have to. These people are my friends and they need me."

Mikuro snorted, looking pointedly at Rin. "Some friends."

Haruhiko looked at Mikuro, his eyes full of some emotion that Rin didn't recognize. "They need me," he repeated. "I know what I'm doing."

Something in the younger boy's tone got through to Mikuro. He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Haru's. "You're determined to do this?" he asked softly.

Haru nodded, looking more like Shion than ever before.

Smiling sadly, Mikuro nodded back. "Then I'm coming too," he announced.

Rin dropped the girls' hands, jumping forward. "You can't come!" he cried, overwhelmed by this turn of events. "You're not from the moon base--you'll be out of place."

Tamura made a choking noise. Mikuro rushed to reassure. "You need another teleporter," he declared, matter-of-factly. "Haru might be able to get there on his own, but there's no way he could survive if he had to support anyone else."

Daisuke raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. "Actually, this is probably for the best," he conceded right away, surprising Rin. "Shu, why don't you move to stand between Mokuren and Enju?"

Haruhiko did as he was bid and Daisuke motioned Mikuro to the spot he'd just vacated.

Mikuro looked hard at Haru for a long moment, then stepped into his place in the circle, grasping Daisuke's and Sakura's hands tightly. "Haru, don't you dare try to move anyone but yourself," he instructed forcefully.

Tamura stood outside the ring, cursing under his breath. "Haru, don't," he pleaded. Rin almost snickered. It was bad enough to be called Mastudaira Takahashi's mother--did this guy have to be Shukkaido's as well?

Daisuke grinned, admirably hiding his stress. "Change of plans," he announced. "Shion, can you handle both Mokuren and Shusuran's teleportation?"

Rin nodded. Especially if Alice tried to help, it shouldn't be too hard.

The captain looked at Jinpachi. "Enju is your responsibility," he said. "We'll all try our best to keep this a flowing circle of power, but if it doesn't work, focus on Enju."

Jinpachi's chest puffed up with responsibility.

"And I look out for you, right?" Mikuro peered at Daisuke through the fringe of his bangs. He looked over at Haruhiko and have him a half-smile. "Take care of yourself, Kid," he urged quietly.

Tamura looked like he would protest again, but Haru smiled. "It's okay, Mr. Tamura. We'll be just fine." His voice was light and gentle, and it seemed to calm his anxious friend.

Rin closed his eyes, once again connecting with Alice and Sakura. He could feel the tingle of power from within himself, as well as a faint tickle from Alice. He silently begged her to find the source of her energy.

_Focus, Mokuren. I love you._

He was consumed by energy from all sides--the familiar power of those born to the mother planet and the alien shiver of Mikuro's energy. It almost hurt, in a cool, electric sort of way.

He thought he heard Alice cry out. Opening his eyes, he looked sharply at her. She was Mokuren, her Kitche glowing from her forehead, her blonde hair streaming behind her. The others had transformed too--for the moment consumed by their former selves. Shion closed his eyes, concentrating on Sarjalim, on the moon.

Another surge of power thrust though him, and everything went black.

Alice felt like she was floating, sliding through matter and space as though her molecules had split, opened up to let everything flow through. Even Rin's fingers--previously so solid and concrete--had drifted into nothingness. Only the steady wash of energy let her know she was not alone.

The arrival came with a slam--bone pressing bone and insides sloshing. Alice felt sick. Every part of her body hurt and her lungs were straining for breath she couldn't catch. Even before she could open her eyes, Rin's thin body fell hard against her, knocking her to the cold floor. She heard his gasp and the groan of the other--Kasama Haruhiko--as she yanked his hand.

"Haru!" Mikuro's raspy voice was strained, exhausted, but he managed to lunge across the circle in time to catch his friend before he hit the floor.

Rin looked up slowly, his hands gripping Alice's sweater. The room was dark, but she could see the outlines of their friends as her eyes adjusted. Together, with the others, they watched as Mikuro checked the unconscious Haruhiko's vital signs.

"He's not going to die, is he?" Sakura's voice sounded small.

Mikuro pressed his ear to the boy's chest, making a choking sound as he listened. "He's having a heart attack or something!" he growled. "Ayame! Nadeshiko, anyone! Get over here and help him!" His voice cracked as he bellowed the command.

"We need a doctor!" Jinpachi added, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his yell.

Sakura fell to her knees and Issei dropped down beside her, sliding his arm around the girl as she began to whimper.

Alice was afraid to move. She clutched Rin hard against her, glad that he was okay even as she was terrified for Haru. She'd believed that everything would be all right, that the dangerous part was going to come later, not right away, when they should be celebrating their success.

Suddenly a door burst open and they were bathed in light. A young woman with short black hair ran to Mikuro and Haruhiko, her face panicked. "What's happened here?" she asked sharply, already scanning him with a strange instrument.

"He has a weak heart," Mikuro supplied. "I think the trip was too much for him."

After a momentary examination the woman stood. "We have to get him stabilized. Can you carry him?"

With a grunt, Mikuro scooped the smaller boy into his arms. He followed the doctor out of the room.

Alice looked at the others, still too shocked to speak or do anything other than hold onto Rin.

"That--that must have been Ayame," Issei said softly. "She's one of the best doctors to ever join the space program," he reminded them. "If anyone can help Shukkaido, she can."

The doctor had left a hand-held lamp on the floor. Illuminated, the room was familiar--one of the casual gathering rooms on the base. The walls were thick with plant life--vines and runners had stretched themselves through the ducts and across the plated walls, their roots pushing deep through crevices, searching for the cool, dark places where water condensed and accumulated. The floor was a thick carpet of grass and weeds, weak and white from lack of natural light.

Alice looked at the old couches and shelves of books and magazines, remembering days when Mokuren did nothing but read, curled up on the chair in the corner. It was a strange sensation, remembering Mokuren in the third person, as though she weren't really a part of herself. A cold chill prickled her skin. She didn't like remembering Mokuren so vividly--the lack of herself, of Sakaguchi Alice within the memory made her feel insignificant.

"Welcome home!" A light female voice pulled Alice's gaze to the doorway. A tall slender woman with light blonde hair stood just inside. "That was Shion, wasn't it? I'm sure Ayame will get him back to you in no time."

"Actually," Daisuke stood, running a hand through his hair, "that was Shukkaido. We've all changed quite a lot since we were here last." He smiled weakly. "You're as beautiful as ever, Nadeshiko." Alice was shocked at his easy words and tight control. He was unsteady on his feet, but it was clear he'd never let the other captain know that.

She was visibly startled. "Hiiragi?" Her eyes widened. "What happened to you?"

"Clearly a case of reincarnation." A tall, broad-shouldered man entered the room just behind her, putting his hands on Nadeshiko's shoulders. His confident voice sent shivers down Alice's spine. Hinagiku. She wished she could remember why she disliked him. "You all died out here, only to be reincarnated on Earth; am I right?" It was as though he were seeking approval for something he'd already decided was the truth. He glanced over the exhausted group. "I'm amazed you were able to find each other again."

Nadeshiko smiled at the man, clearly impressed by his deduction. "Shall we make introductions? I am Nadeshiko--security officer, biochemist, and captain of this mission. You just met Ayame, the ship's medical doctor and genetic expert. This is Hinagiku; he's the one who reminds us to pause to reflect upon Sarjalim when we get too caught up in our work." She put a hand over one of his, surprising Alice with the implied intimacy.

Hiiragi smiled at the other man, nodding slightly before proceeding with his own introductions. He motioned to Rin and Alice first. "This young boy here is actually Shion," he explained. Rin clambered to his feet. "His Earth name is Kobayashi Rin, but we'll use our old names up here. And this," he helped Alice to her feet, " this is Mokuren."

Rin faltered, clearly more worn out than the rest of them. Alice steadied him with one arm. She hoped he wasn't going to be sick. She glanced up, trying to be polite to their new hosts, but looked back down when she saw Hinagiku's deep gray eyes staring into her. He knew that she knew the truth about him, she suddenly realized, but was instantly confused. What was the truth? Realizing that she'd have to give it more thought later, she tried to dismiss her worries, instead guiding Rin to sit on one of the sofas.

Gyokuran, Shusuran, and Enju were all introduced as well. "And that other guy, the one who carried Shukkaido out of here," Jinpachi hurried to explain, "that was Mikuro. He's a friend from Earth with similar Sarches powers."

Alice saw something flicker in Hinagiku's eyes as he casually pushed a stray lock of his chestnut hair from his face. Why would he be interested in Mikuro? She watched him carefully as everyone began to talk, catching up on personal information or learning more about what brought these others to Earth. Nadeshiko embraced Issei, ignoring his blush as she teased him about his attractive male form. She smiled at Daisuke too, pinching his youthful face and chiding him for being so young while she had no choice but to get older. Hinagiku didn't let his gaze leave Nadeshiko's face until Jinpachi dragged his attention away with questions.

Alice let Rin lean on her while she listened to the others, stroking his hair as everyone chattered. The others from the mother planet were the only ones left, it seemed, and they'd been sealed away in hibernation chambers for the past eighteen years while making the long trip to Earth. That would explain why they hadn't aged, why they were in their mid- to late-twenties instead of pushing forty-five or fifty. They'd been on the moon for a couple of days, trying to crack the computers' codes to get the life-support systems activated.

"We were just about to move that skeleton out of the garden observation room and into a capsule," Hinagiku was saying. "That way, we could make the room useful again."

"No." Rin sat up straight, his eyes meeting those of the older man. "Please, I--Shion was happy there. Let him stay." He closed his eyes and leaned against Alice once more. "He belongs in there, with Mokuren's flowers."

Alice didn't like the way these newcomers were tampering with things. She didn't like the out-of-body feeling she had in the pit of her stomach as Mokuren's memories bombarded her. It had been a mistake to come--they were from Earth. What could they possibly do to help these aliens, and why had it been so crucial for them all to come? She cradled Rin's head in her lap, determined to be more concerned for her neighbor and less worried about her wary feelings.

He fell asleep almost immediately, prompting Nadeshiko to hurry them all into the sleeping chambers. She had prepared all the rooms, hoping they'd arrive soon. The new team occupied two of the seven, so Alice chose to stay with Rin while Issei and Jinpachi agreed to bunk together. Alice guided her sleepy charge into the dark, chilly room--Shion's room. Her face flushed as she remembered all that had once transpired there, but she pushed it out of her head as Rin curled up next to her on the narrow bed. There would be enough time to remember later.

Though he was just as tired as his friends, Daisuke didn't allow himself the luxury of sleep. With one of his crew possibly near death, it was his responsibility to see that he was getting the best care before turning in. His feet carried him automatically to the medical rooms, each turn surprisingly familiar only after he'd decided to make it. He slid the med center's door open as quietly as possible, not wanting to interrupt whatever was happening in there.

The room was dim with just the pale blue lights of the backup power system. Shukkaido seemed very small and young on the bed in the middle of the chamber, hooked up to at least half a dozen machines that were, in turn, hooked up to a portable generator that hummed in the corner. Mikuro sat close beside Shukkaido's bed, his expression tense. He looked up as Daisuke walked in, but turned his gaze back to his friend's pale face as soon as he'd identified the visitor.

"He's stabilized," a soft voice said from a dim corner. Ayame sat on a stiff chair, her hand on her forehead as though in frustration or exhaustion. Daisuke hoped it was the latter--frustration didn't bode well for his friend's situation. She stood and approached him.

"You're the captain?" she asked. Before he could answer, she continued. "Truth be told, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. I have him on an artificial blood pump and respiratory device right now. The pump should act like a normal heart for an indefinite amount of time, and the breathing device just makes certain he doesn't give out in his sleep. I induced a coma for a while," she explained softly. "His heart is irreparable."

"So he's going to die?" The words tasted bitter in his mouth. Clearly this was his fault--if only he'd refused to let Shukkaido come along.

Ayame smiled grimly. "Not necessarily," she said, silently guiding him to her workstation at the far end of the room. The worktable was home to a small tank of fluid. Something was floating inside. "I've taken a tiny, undamaged piece of the patient's heart and checked the DNA codes. He wasn't born with this heart condition, so using the genetic codes, I've begun to build a new organ."

Daisuke was astounded. He'd known that the mother planet had the technology for genetic regeneration, but until that moment he hadn't realized how incredible the science could be. He stared hard at the lump of flesh in the murky fluid. A new heart. That could cure Shukkaido permanently. "How long will it take?" His voice was hoarse. "How soon until Shukkaido can wake up?"

Ayame started, visibly stunned. "Shukkaido?" she asked weakly. "I thought--"

She probably thought he was dead. "We were reincarnated," he explained quickly. "His Earth name is Kasama Haruhiko, but he's also Shukkaido."

She abruptly turned, hurrying to Shukkaido's bedside. Daisuke followed, wanting an answer. She stared at her patient's face, touched his black hair. "Shukkaido," she whispered.

Daisuke felt like he was intruding, but he had to know. "How soon?" he repeated.

The pretty doctor looked up at him, professional once more. "Give me four days," she answered confidently. "The organ will be ready for transplant within four days." She looked back at Shukkaido, still as death beneath the tubes and contraptions. "The hard part will be keeping him alive that long," she murmured. "Mechanically, it's no trouble, but he has to want to hang on."

He remembered that Shusuran and Enju had rescued the boy from an attempted suicide last year. Daisuke was worried. Unless a great deal had changed since then, they were in for a rough time.

Mikuro, who hadn't seemed to be listening all this time, suddenly leaned in close to his friend. He grasped the boy's hand, squeezing it urgently. "Come on, Kid," he whispered. "Hear me. You've gotta hang on."

The young captain hoped that, if nothing else, the earnestness in his friend's voice would keep Shukkaido with them. Daisuke's eyes met those of the doctor. It was clear they had both been thinking the same thing.


	9. Chapter 9

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Tuesday, Day Nine:**

"It's all perfectly familiar," Sakura was saying as she ran her fingers over the pitted wall of the hallway. "Like we never even left."

"Except that it's cold and dark and covered in moss and weeds," Issei corrected, pulling his fingers away from a lichen-encased power panel. "Everything's damp, too, as though it's been raining in here."

Sakura paused, casting him a scolding glare. "I meant the layout of the base. Isn't it wild that we remember where we're going as though we'd lived here recently?"

Issei found the deja vu uncanny and almost spooky. Before now, his recollections of his previous life had been disjointed memories. Now they flowed smoothly, one into the next like a continuing film. Being aware of so much time confused him, making him forget which aspects of himself were Issei and which belonged solely to Enju.

After sleeping so soundly upon their arrival, Issei had been eager to get out and explore the base. Jinpachi was already gone, but Sakura had arrived outside his door, amazingly cheerful and wrapped in the robes they'd all worn before. They'd spent the day exploring.

Issei felt a little guilty, having a relaxing day of sightseeing while Rin was hard at work with the computers. Apparently Shion had layered new programs over old programs, using complex coding and security systems. The kid was clearly having trouble unraveling the knots of the puzzle; he'd been at it five hours and the main power wasn't yet activated. In the pale blue light of the back-up system, the base looked even more like something from a dream.

They hadn't come across Jinpachi yet. Alice was in the sick room, looking after Haruhiko and talking with Mikuro. They'd found Daisuke in the library, nose in a book and oblivious of his surroundings. Rin was of course working in the main computer room, under the close supervision of Nadeshiko and Hinagiku. Issei wondered where his friend had hidden himself--they'd explored almost the entire base.

"Issei! Look at this!" Sakura stood on tiptoe, peering into the window of yet another sliding door. "It's Mokuren's garden!"

Issei looked over her shoulder. Since their last talk by the river, things had basically reverted back to how they used to be. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, about knowing how his friend felt and watching her hide it under a cloak of normalcy. "Wanna go in?" he asked, looking at the jungle of vines and flowers.

She wrinkled her nose. "With Shion's nasty old bones? Let's not." She slid her hand around his arm and tugged. "Let's go see Shusuran and Enju!"

The idea made him queasy. Seeing the dead body of the woman he'd once been seemed too concrete, too real. It was hard enough going through life knowing he'd been a woman before, feeling her emotions. If he saw her now, he was afraid he'd never shake off her influence.

"Come on," she urged. "The capsule room should be right down this hallway. We can check out everyone else, too!"

Partly because he couldn't say no to Sakura and partly because his heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing Gyokuran's handsome face again, he allowed himself to be led down the dim hall.

The first thing he noticed was Jinpachi. He sat on the edge of a capsule, staring down at the face of the preserved body inside. A twinge of jealously bit at Issei's stomach as he realized that his friend must be with Mokuren.

He hadn't noticed he'd been staring until the girl at his side jostled him gently. "I think I'm going to leave you two alone," Sakura whispered suddenly, grasping his hand and squeezing it. Issei was perplexed, but couldn't say a word before she spun about and disappeared down the hallway.

Jinpachi looked up, a peculiar expression on his face. "Issei," he said quietly, touching the glass window of his chosen capsule. "I never realized--" He stood up and stared at Issei, something new in his eyes. Something painful.

Issei's breath caught in his throat. In the pale light and deep shadow of the vast room, Jinpachi's features seemed different; his hair shone a brighter shade of gold and he looked just like Enju's lover. Beautiful. He swallowed. "Gyo--Gyokuran?"

"I never remembered, but now, seeing her--" Jinpachi murmured cryptically. "He--I cared for her so much."

Issei took a few careful steps toward his friend, trying to rationally to think of this boy as Ogura Jinpachi and not Gyokuran. He swallowed hard. "Cared for whom?" he asked cautiously.

Jinpachi looked down, gazing once more into the capsule beside him. "Enju," he whispered, barely audible. "Because of my obsession with Mokuren, I forgot that I also loved Enju."

Issei felt as though his stomach had leaped into his heart, as though he'd been punched too hard in the gut and left dizzy and mixed up inside. He'd anticipated the breathless catch in his throat, the pounding of his blood through his body, but all he could think of was that it was too late. With the constant flow of memories that this place offered, it was easy to remember the despair of Enju's last days, the belief that Gyokuran had only used her. He turned away from his friend, clenching his eyes closed. "Why tell me this now, Gyokuran? What good will it do?"

His friend didn't answer.

Jinpachi's silence made him angry. "Can't you see that it's too late now?" he whirled around to face the boy he loved, falling back a few steps as he realized that Jinpachi had moved closer. "Enju's dead," he said in a broken voice. Issei's heart was pounding painfully. He didn't understand why this was happening. He wasn't a sounding board for Gyokuran's guilt.

"I know." Jinpachi's voice was barely a whisper. "I just thought you should know, I never meant--I never wanted to hurt you." Reaching out with a shaking hand, Jinpachi grasped Issei's arm and yanked him against him, enfolding him in a hug.

His nearness bombarded Issei's senses. He could feel his friend's warmth in the cold room, smell the masculine scent of his skin, his hair. Issei was painfully aware of the lean hardness of Jinpachi's chest. He was frozen, unable to move, all the while remembering vividly Gyokuran's ardent lovemaking. Enju's love was building inside of him, warm and dazzling, confusing Issei even more. Was Jinpachi the same as Gyokuran? Was Issei the same as Enju?

"You're my best friend, Issei, but I never understood about--about Enju." His voice was gruff near Issei's ear. "I understand everything now . . . about what you said, about . . . what you did." Issei flushed with the reminder of his impetuous kiss. "Until we got here, I didn't completely realize that we are the same people."

The same. Something in Issei's mind protested. This place was tricky; its memories were confusing. He wasn't Enju; Jinpachi wasn't Gyokuran. And Sakura wasn't Shusuran. "We're not," he said quietly, putting his hands on Jinpachi's shoulders to hold him away. "I can't be Enju. I'm not." He remembered middle school, his brotherly camaraderie with Jinpachi before the romantic feelings interfered. "She died."

Jinpachi dropped his arms, stepping back. His eyes flickered confusion, then guarded sadness. "Gyokuran too," he acknowledged softly. "But it's not that simple, is it?" He smiled weakly. "How do we know which bits are us and which are them?"

For a long time neither spoke. Ignoring the longing in his best friend's eyes, Issei was trying to fit the parts of him that were still Enju into neat little sections of himself, to tuck her away so she couldn't interfere again. Each time he tried, new pieces of Enju emerged--delicate, feminine pieces. Issei didn't want them, didn't want the surges of female longing to cloud his thinking.

But it was useless. He looked at Jinpachi, trying to see the boy he'd known for so long instead of the man he'd longed to know. "Maybe I'm not Enju," he said cautiously, coming to a compromise, "but in some ways, I think she's part of me. Still," he continued softly, " I can't let her control me."

Jinpachi wouldn't look up from the floor, clearly wrestling with his own memories. Issei instantly wondered if he'd done the right thing, if he would regret not accepting what his friend finally seemed to offer.

"So it's time to move on." Jinpachi's voice was distant. Issei followed his friend's gaze to the cracked glass over Mokuren's face. "Gyokuran died with regrets. I don't want to do that again."

An image of Sakura flickered through Issei's mind. "Me neither," he agreed. He reached out to grasp Jinpachi's hand, relieved when his friend squeezed back. "No regrets this time."

It was probably the hum of the fans that woke him. Or the greenish, fluorescent glow of lights, bright behind his eyes. Mikuro sat up slowly, shaking his head as he lifted it from Haru's mattress. He hadn't meant to sleep. Resituating himself in the bedside chair, he glanced around the suddenly bright room. Clearly the kid had managed to get the base up and running again.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Ayame's groggy protest dragged Mikuro's attention to the cot she'd set up in the corner. So she hadn't left. Satisfaction tugged his mouth into a smile. He found himself liking the young doctor. Even though she'd just met him, she seemed to actually care whether or not Haru ever woke up.

She sat up, running a hand through her short hair. "You're still up?" she asked, shaking her head. She grinned. "That's dedication! I thought for sure that you'd've been out by now."

"I was." Mikuro tried to rub out the tightness in his neck. "I think the power coming back on woke me." He looked down at his friend, lifelessly still and pale on the bed. Reaching out with his mind, Mikuro tried to collect some of Haru's thoughts. Nothing. "Is he still okay?" he asked worriedly.

She checked a couple monitors before nodding. "He's probably happily dreaming of his girlfriends back home." She grinned. "With a face like that, I'm sure there are plenty of them wondering where he went." Moving the temporary generator away, she began to switch over the tubes and wires, hooking Haru up to the base's more reliable power system.

Mikuro watched her idly, thinking about his friend. Haru had never struck him as the type to be popular with girls, but there was no reason why he wouldn't be. He had the right stuff--that quiet, almost brooding attitude combined with his face and eyes and hair. It'd be a killer combination in anyone else. But not Haruhiko. He felt a surge of protectiveness for his young friend. Haru lacked the confidence for popularity. Girls had a way of sensing that sort of thing right away.

"No matter how long and hard you stare at him, he's not going to wake up." Ayame's voice was soft from across the room. "You haven't left his side for more than five minutes since you got here," she reminded him. "I'm sure he's grateful, but you need to get some rest yourself."

"I'm okay." Mikuro didn't want to leave. He couldn't shake the feeling that if he left the room, something terrible would happen to Haru.

She walked over to stand between him and the bed. "Go," she ordered. "I'm not going to leave him alone. Get out of here."

Somewhere between her stern voice and gentle smile, Mikuro believed her. He stood, shooing the tiny woman away so he could talk to his friend.

"Haru," he whispered, leaning close enough to feel the boy's warmth. "I'll be back, Haru." He smoothed his wild black hair from his face, memorizing the smoothness of Haruhiko's skin beneath his fingers. His friend didn't move, didn't even flicker his eyelids to show he understood. Mikuro's chest ached and he didn't want to go. "Stay strong, okay?"

At first he thought he'd gotten back in touch with Haruhiko as a favor to Tamura, but somewhere along the way that motive had gotten lost. Since that night in Haru's room, his thoughts never strayed far from the younger boy. He wasn't completely sure what had happened, or what it might mean in the long run, but he knew enough to understand what kept him by the boy's bedside. It made his head hurt.

He slipped into the tiny chamber that had been designated as his room, not bothering to touch the panel that activated the lights. He was there to sleep, after all. He flopped onto the narrow bed, closing his eyes briefly in the darkness. This was insane. He didn't understand why they were there at all, but now they had no choice but to stay. Haru almost died--he still could. Was it worth it, to save the lives of Ayame and the others?

No. Not if Haru died.

A tiny spark pulled his attention outward, to the wall beside the sliding door. Another spark, small and blue, flickered there. Live electricity? Mikuro stood, taking a step through the darkness to the climate control panel. It was gone, torn away to expose live wires and sparking metal.

He squinted, opening the door for extra light. Not torn--cut. The slices were clean, made recently with a sharp tool. Deliberate.

He backed away from the wall, his heart suddenly racing. What if he'd tried to turn on the lights? He didn't know how much power coursed through those wires, but he guessed it'd be enough to hurt. Maybe enough to kill.

Alice was singing. Rin lay back with his eyes closed, happy he hadn't already made his presence known to her. She didn't sing much at home--she was shy about her voice, he guessed. She shouldn't be. She was incredible.

He had slipped into the garden room about twenty minutes before, just after he finished organizing the computers. Shion had really messed with things; Rin was grateful that he somehow still remembered the twisted logic behind it all. After hours of working, he'd wanted to see Alice. He'd known just where to go.

The garden was even more overgrown than it had been before. Shion had set up the computers for steady watering, and the daily sunlight streaming through the UV coated windows had made the room a jungle. Vines had covered everything, clinging to the ceiling and walls and flowering in brilliant sunbursts. In the nine years since he'd last been there the plants had taken over--breaking from their pots and rooting themselves in the cracked tile floor.

Alice had been working silently with the plants and he hadn't wanted to disturb her. Once her songs began, he was glad he hadn't. He peeked at her from his hiding place among the tall flowering grasses. She seemed to glow--even her black hair was bright with warm radiance. She'd always been happy there, surrounded by plants and near the huge glass walls that let her view the earth. She was carefully re-potting a scarlet blossom, singing without reserve or shyness.

"You're terribly cheerful, considering that you stand within yards of your lover's remains." The dark voice made Rin start. Hinagiku.

Alice jumped, almost dropping the potted flower she held. "How--how did you know that--?"

"That you and Shion were lovers?" The tall man laughed, sliding the door closed behind him as he walked closer to her. "I read your journals. It seems you kept detailed records of everything in your previous life."

Rin didn't like Hinagiku's mocking tone, or the way he looked at Alice. He crouched behind the tall plants, debating whether to speak up or to stay hidden. It was probably wise not to let the man know he was there, but Rin's longing to protect Alice kept him ready to spring.

"I was surprised at your behavior, Mokuren," Hinagiku continued, saying her name as though it were an insult. "I didn't think you had it in you."

Alice was clearly flustered, staring at the man wordlessly.

"How did it feel, Kichess, in that moment when you threw away everything so you could indulge in a night of carnal pleasure? How did it feel when you realized that nothing had changed, that you still had your powers? Were you relieved? Disappointed?" He stepped close to her, reaching out grasp a strand of her hair between his finger and thumb. "How did you feel--Mokuren?"

Alice yanked away, turning her back on the Sarches. She traced her fingers along the edges of her flower's petals, closing her eyes against Hinagiku's continuing interrogation.

"Was it worth it?" he asked in a hiss, leaning close behind her "Was the gratification of your lusts adequate cause for turning your back on the goddess? Did you find something as holy as Sarjalim when you spread your--"

"No!" She covered her ears, letting the flower slip from her hands to crash in an explosion of ceramic against the floor. "Stop it!" she cried, shaking her head frantically. "I'm not her anymore! I'm not Mokuren! I don't remember how she felt; I don't want to!" She lifted her head slightly, focusing her eyes on a point on the far wall. "My name is Sakaguchi Alice. Please," even from a distance, Rin could see that her cheeks were damp and flushed, "I don't remember."

Rin felt sick. He remembered. He remembered Mokuren that first time, how she'd changed her mind and begged to leave. He remembered the tears he'd ignored. She'd fallen in love with him anyway, even claimed that she'd always loved him. Shion believed it because he hadn't wanted the guilt of the truth.

Hinagiku laughed. "It's good that your memory is faulty. For the well-being of your friends, you'd better hope it stays that way." He took a few steps toward Alice, pausing only when he was close enough to breathe her air. Twisting his hand in her hair and pulling until she tilted her head back to look at him, he grinned. "Stay out of my way, Mokuren," he warned in a low, cracking voice. "I don't want to have to prove that I can kill every last one of you." After yanking on the hair twisted around his fist, the tall man let go.

Alice fell to her knees, sobbing as Hinagiku spun on his heel and left the room. Rin half-ran and half-crawled through the thick grasses and tangled vines, sliding to the floor next to her and catching his arms around her shoulders. He held on to her, whispering soothing words and absorbing the sobs that shook her whole body.

He swallowed hard, resting his cheek on her shiny hair. For the first time since they'd contacted Nadeshiko, Rin was scared.


	10. Chapter 10

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

**Wednesday, Day Ten:**

After more than forty-eight hours of studying her patient, Ayame wasn't sure which incarnation was more enthralling. She remembered her few nights with Shukkaido: the fluid way in which he moved, his light limbs encircling her as she slept. His face was particularly vivid--quiet and gentle, but always sparkling with curiosity or laughter. Sometimes she wondered if there could be another person in the universe as captivating as Shukkaido.

But then she saw Kasama Haruhiko, who looked like an angel beneath the cold lights.

She hoped his waking self would live up to his beauty, that he'd really understand this friend of his who refused to leave his side. Mikuro spent hours without speaking to anyone, his hands clasped around Haru's still fingers.

She glanced at the regeneration tank, where the new organ was steadily growing. It was half-finished; with each passing day that Haru stayed strong, his chances looked better. She wanted him to pull through--not only so that she could get to know him, but also to erase the look of pain on Mikuro's face, to ease the tense minds of Hiiragi and the others who took turns hovering outside the door.

Hiiragi. Daisuke. She wanted to talk to him, to explore the strange connection she'd felt with him from the first moment he'd charged into her medic room. Ayame's gaze shifted to Mikuro's hunched figure. He knew to call her if anything changed, and she deserved a break.

She found Hiiragi in the library.

"Ayame." He didn't look up for more than an instant, sipping tea as his eyes moved across the pages of the book. It was a history of her home planet--educational but dry. "Any change?"

She shook her head, sinking into the chair across from his. "No. Things are coming along in good order." His eyes seemed to falter over the words and she felt the need to encourage him. "He can't feel anything right now," she promised, covering his hand with one of hers. "The coma keeps him in a suspension, of sorts."

Hiiragi was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, Ayame was surprised that it wasn't about Shukkaido. "We're a lot alike," he said in a distant voice. "Both carbon-based organisms, both from planets rich in water and oxygen. In fact, our DNA is almost identical, isn't it?"

Ayame was puzzled. "Less than a single percent difference," she answered, shaking her head. "Why do you ask?"

Hiiragi was thoughtful. "How can that be? Convergent evolution? Mixed gene pools? Our planets are light years apart and yet we're almost identical--how could this happen?"

"Sarjalim." Ayame smiled at his youthful face, enjoying the way his dark hair brushed his forehead. "Often, when science fails to give answers, Sarjalim can."

He almost laughed, and for a moment Ayame was indignant and strangely embarrassed. "What?" she cried defensively. "Doesn't your planet believe in Sarjalim?"

He smiled, surprising her by standing suddenly. "We don't have the same name for her, but yes, we do believe in Sarjalim." He closed his book and looked at her intently. "But on Earth there is a line between science and religion. They have little to do with one another, really. What you call Sarjalim's will, we seek scientific answers for."

What a strange boy this Hiiragi/Daisuke was turning out to be. "Are we finished in here?" she asked, motioning toward the stack of books on the table.

He nodded, offering his arm as he led her out of the library. "I expect a tour of your workspace," he suggested in mock seriousness.

She slid her arm around his, surprised at how quickly she succumbed to the happy feeling that came with being near him. They passed Hinagiku in the hallway outside; Ayame managed to ignore the dark look he cast her way. He had warned them to keep their distance when it came to these young people from the planet, to maintain a professional cool when working with them. It wouldn't do to become attached, he'd suggested meaningfully. For Ayame it was already too late. She'd already fallen half in love with her patient and his loyal boyfriend, she'd developed a surprising rapport with the quiet girl, Mokuren, and somehow she couldn't seem to learn enough about their attractive young captain to keep satisfied.

A few minutes later they passed through the quiet medical room. Shukkaido had more visitors; Mokuren and the sweet-faced boy called Enju whispered softly to one another at the bedside. Mikuro had fallen asleep again; his head lay near Shukkaido's pillow.

"Do any of you have sway over that one?" Ayame asked Hiiragi anxiously. "He needs regular sleep in his own bed."

He shook his head. "He's Shukkaido's friend and answers only to him." He shrugged helplessly. "No one else really knows him."

Ayame nodded. Maybe a few more days like this wouldn't hurt the young man. Sometimes it seemed more harmful to send him away. She led Hiiragi into the back rooms and through a passageway to her makeshift lab. The laboratory originally had been part of the ship she'd arrived in--an airtight extension connected it to the lunar research station.

Hiiragi seemed impressed. He turned slowly in the strange blue light, surveying all her equipment and supplies. A computer screen glowed with a live camera image of Shukkaido's growing heart--she had been running tests on its advancement that morning. He paused in front of a glass door--the refrigerated sample closet. Getting a nod of permission from Ayame, he opened it.

"A DNA library," he said quietly, his eyes scanning the names on the vials. "You must have close to a million here."

"One point five million, to be precise," Ayame said proudly. "The best and brightest from our home planet. We took samples before leaving--apparently the conclusion to the war had been foreseen." They both fell silent. For a fleeting moment Ayame remembered her mother, how happy and eager she'd been when she learned that Ayame had been chosen for such an important mission.

Hiiragi turned suddenly to a second door, peering through the window with undisguised curiosity. Ayame knew what he saw. RGCs--Rapid Growth Capsules--one hundred twenty of them in twelve rows, stacked like bunk beds. She used the same technology in growing Shukkaido's heart--the same hormonal solution and electric pulses--except the capsules could grow an entire person in a matter of weeks.

"I see you come equipped with your own clone pods," Hiiragi said darkly. "Perfect for building an army."

Ayame stiffened. "We prefer 'Rapid Growth Capsules,' if you don't mind. You might not remember, but your terminology is offensive." She bristled over his army comment, but refrained from saying anything. She didn't know how much of him was separate from Hiiragi; Daisuke Dobashi's outlook might have nothing to do with what happened to her home planet.

Hiiragi turned away from the door, running his hand through his hair. He studied the computer monitor for a long time, watching the thump of his friend's new heart. "Why are you working so hard to save him?" His voice was low and his eyes glued to the monitor. "What's the point in saving the life of an Earthling?"

His words startled her. In the time they'd spent together, he'd never been anything but friendly and courteous. She'd actually thought he might like her. "What are you saying? I'm a doctor--helping people is what I do!"

He looked up then, his face stony and distant, his voice cold. "I've been studying your science," he explained slowly, "studying Hiiragi's logs, too. I know your mission. I know your plans for my planet."

She took a deep breath, steadying the rapid thudding of her pulse. She'd assumed he'd known the whole time--it wasn't kept a secret from the captains. "Hiiragi," she began in her most soothing voice.

"Daisuke," he corrected shortly. "I know all about the colonization; your mission is to overrun my planet with clones of your own people." His voice was quiet, but accusing.

"Colonization, yes, but certainly we're not planning to overrun your planet. There are plenty of open spaces--the western part of North America or northeastern Asia, for instance. My planet is gone, exploded into dust and asteroids, and we are the only ones still alive to make sure that Sarjalim's people live on!"

Hiiragi snorted. "You mean _clones_ of Sarjalim's people, right?"

Ayame was livid. "Don't use such a vulgar word! It's coarse and rude and I don't want to hear it again. They are _genetically engineered individuals. _Not 'clones.'" His word tasted foul in her mouth. How could this boy even begin to judge her work, her entire life? He knew nothing of how it felt to be the only hope for his culture to survive.

He glared at her, his cheeks flushed and demeanor cocky. "I'm only saying how I see it, doctor," he said calmly. "But before you start shuttling all of your 'genetically engineered individuals' down to my planet, maybe you should read some of Gyokuran's notes on Earth culture and population. You might see that the planet has more than enough to deal with on its own."

He turned on his heel and left. Ayame felt battered, as though her argument with Hiiragi--Daisuke, as he clearly preferred--had been a physical brawl. Slumping into her chair, she let the rhythmic thumps of Shukkaido's heartbeat lull her. She thought of the fragile boy and his loyal bodyguard. She thought of Daisuke's handsome face flushed with indignant rage.

She reached for the computer. With a few quick keystrokes, she found the data gathered almost eighteen years before about the nature of Earth. Scanning the file names, she searched for Gyokuran's input.

Sakura could just kick herself. She yanked her cloak more tightly around her shoulders and trudged through the dim hallway. What had she been thinking, leaving them together like that? Now Jinpachi was acting weird and Issei was avoiding her. It was as though she'd given up and thrown Enju to the wolves! She clenched her hands into fists, thinking of the profound look on Jinpachi's face, the painful eagerness on Issei's. It was Gyokuran and Enju all over again, and Sakura had practically shoved them into each other's arms, getting all flustered and leaving them alone like that.

A more rational part of her remembered that they'd been alone plenty of times before--Issei had _kissed _him for Sarjalim's sake--and nothing had ever come of it. But the moon had a funny way of getting into their heads, blurring the lines between lifetimes. More than once since arriving, Sakura had found herself thinking of herself as Shusuran, calling Alice Mokuren and Daisuke Hiiragi. They'd switched to Earth names such a long time ago--she found it strange to revert back so suddenly. It was unnatural for them to be there, existing in the place of those who died. It was getting hard to tell which thoughts and memories were hers and which belonged to a previous incarnate.

She wanted to talk with Issei. She wanted to find out what happened and what had been said between them. She wanted to know if she still had a chance with him. So far the opportunity hadn't revealed itself--at breakfast he'd been fast in a conversation with Nadeshiko, then he'd gone with Alice to visit Shukkaido. She hadn't seen hide or hair of him since. Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She hadn't seen much of Jinpachi either.

Before her mind could jump to the unwelcome image of Enju and Gyokuran entwined as lovers, voices around the corner stilled both her mental ranting and her footsteps.

"I'll have the formula perfected by midnight. I've run tests using the boy's DNA--it looks like our speculations were accurate. He's completely susceptible." Nadeshiko's voice was hushed but eager.

"We can program a resilient gene into all of our DNA?"

Nadeshiko must have nodded, because Hinagiku continued.

"Perfect. How many samples do you have?"

Sakura peered around the corner into the library room. Hinagiku sat at a table, books and papers spread in a wide semi-circle around him. Nadeshiko hovered behind, combing his long chestnut hair with her fingers. Their backs were to the door, giving Sakura the opportunity to observe without being noticed. She breathed as quietly as possible, trying to calm her pounding heart. A gene resilient to what, exactly?

"Just three for now," Nadeshiko answered, pausing to pull a vial from her coat pocket. "The other two are in my lab. They can be duplicated very quickly, once we find the right formula." She handed the tiny bottle to him and continued twisting and playing with his hair. "I've run countless simulations on the computers and managed to prevent mutations, so far."

Hinagiku tilted his head back to look at Nadeshiko. Sakura ducked behind the wall, afraid she'd been noticed. "Computer trials are beneficial," he said slowly, "but an actual test would be priceless. Do you have a vaccine prepared?"

She laughed. "I never mess with plagues without a quick antidote. But how would we explain the sudden death?"

"If they all die, we won't have to," he answered in a confident voice. "But if we manage to isolate it within the boy, then I'm sure we can make them believe that his own condition killed him." For a long moment Sakura heard only her own breathing. When Hinagiku spoke again, his voice was gruff. "It's to Sarjalim's glory that we dedicate this first sacrifice."

The scuff of his chair against the floor and the flutter of papers made Sakura jump, poised to dart back down the hallway. New sounds made her pause, and she risked another peek into the library.

They were kissing. And more. Nadeshiko had somehow climbed onto his lap and now sat astride him in a very passionate embrace. Sakura almost closed her eyes as Hinagiku deftly unhooked the long row of buttons down her blouse. "Anyone could come in," Nadeshiko protested in a low voice that sounded more excited than hesitant. "Shouldn't we go back to your room?"

Together they stood, not breaking their kiss. "Too far," Hinagiku explained roughly, pushing Nadeshiko's lab coat from her shoulders. He made a short gesture to one of the soundproof study rooms. "In there."

Even after the heavy door slid shut, Sakura couldn't move, stunned. This was the second time she'd caught a Sarjalian having sex. Wasn't that supposed to negate their powers? She shook her head hard, focusing on the more pressing matter of the vial on the table. Whatever that stuff was, she couldn't let them inject it into Shukkaido. Without thinking of the consequences, she sprinted into the library and snatched the small, cold bottle.

Halfway back to her room, she paused to catch her breath. She looked curiously at the tiny vial. It held about a milliliter of thick, yellowish serum. Whatever it was, she'd have to be careful--it sounded potent. She wondered if the equipment still worked in the old laboratory she'd had Shion set up for her. It was far from the main labs and medical rooms, so it was possible that Nadeshiko didn't even know of its existence.

She slid the vial into her pocket. Her most pressing task was to replace it with a vial of sugar water or saline--anything that wouldn't hurt Shukkaido. If Hinagiku noticed it was missing, she suspected that they would all become test subjects very quickly. Figuring that his romp in the library might be a short one, she ran the rest of the way to her lab.

_Mokuren shifted nervously in the marble hall, adjusting the white lace of her gown and trying not to pace. It had been an important week for her: first came the news that she had been chosen for an important data-gathering mission, then out of the blue, her mentor, whom she'd never met face-to-face, had announced his intention to visit. She could hardly contain herself._

_Almost no one had met Hinagiku. He was one of the most powerful Sarjalians alive, and yet he lived like a hermit, keeping to himself almost completely. He wrote many letters, including long, educational letters to Mokuren her whole life, but no one had ever published a photograph of him or seen him in public. The fact that he was coming to meet her, to speak with her in person for the first time in twenty years, was the biggest honor she could imagine bestowed upon her._

_When the door opened, Mokuren jumped, startled. Then she smiled. He was exactly as she'd pictured him--small and ancient, with white blond hair curling on the top of his head. His eyes were kindly and he moved slowly._

_"Mr. Hinagiku," Mokuren greeted him graciously, bending her knees in a deep curtsey. "It's an honor to meet you, sir." Her hands were trembling as she reached out to shake his._

_The old man smiled. "Never so formal, Mokuren-dear. Haven't we been friends for a long time?" He took her hand with both of his and squeezed gently. "You are even more lovely than I pictured," he said proudly. "I feel like I have a beautiful daughter to show off."_

_Tears sprang into Mokuren's eyes. She hadn't realized that she'd been waiting her whole life for this moment. Impulsively she sprang toward him, folding her arms around him in a warm hug. "It's so wonderful to finally see, you," she whispered fiercely._

_"I see the introductions have been made." A male voice startled Mokuren. She stepped back, automatically smiling at this new visitor. "Forgive me for intruding," the young man began politely, "I'm here with Master Hinagiku."_

_"Come in, boy. Come in." Hinagiku ushered him into the hall with gentle familiarity. The old man turned to Mokuren. "This is my apprentice, Kiku. He was wise enough to know that I ought not travel alone." _

_Kiku smiled and shook Mokuren's hand. She smiled, already taken by his beautiful eyes and friendly face. His hair was long and reddish brown--he wore it braided and draped over his shoulder in a rope any girl would have envied. On his forehead gleamed the four dots of his Kitche--he was a Sarjalian. "I'm thrilled to finally meet the famous Mokuren," Hinagiku said flirtatiously. "I've heard of nothing else but your beauty and wisdom since I came to work with the Master."_

_"Thank you for coming," Mokuren said happily, but her attention was already focused once more on the older man. She took his arm and led them both out of the hall. _

Alice woke with a jolt, her breath hard and painful in her chest. The room was dark and quiet, and Rin was wrapped around her in comfortable deep sleep. She smoothed his hair with shaking hands, willing the panic to subside. The man calling himself Hinagiku was not who he claimed. She remembered the real Hinagiku, the wise old man who had helped raise her through letters and tutelage. The Sarjalian on the moon with them was Kiku.

She remembered everything now--how Hinagiku urged her not to accept the space mission, citing it to be the first step in a disappointing experiment. "It will be hard for you, Mokuren," he'd warned. "You will fall in love with the planet you are sent to study, you will feel protective of its life, its people. What if you study only to destroy?"

Mokuren had waved his warnings aside; bright with youthful optimism, she'd argued that no government would put forth so much capital toward an educational mission if they intended to destroy the planet. Besides, she'd argued, she had the impartiality of a scientist--there was little chance that she'd get her emotions entangled in her work.

Hinagiku said little more on the subject, switching to the more local issue of keeping alien creatures as pets. Mokuren had gratefully followed his lead, but noticed that Kiku glowered openly. She wondered idly what about the space mission had him so worked up.

Later, when she heard that Hinagiku had declined the offer to be part of a related mission, Mokuren wasn't surprised. It was only three weeks later, when her mentor had a sudden change of heart, that she started to get a bad feeling about the whole situation.

Now Alice understood completely. Kiku had taken Hinagiku's place-undoubtedly against his will. Tears for Mokuren's old mentor spilled down Alice's cheeks. Kiku would have had to kill him. No wonder he'd been so vile to her since her arrival--Mokuren was the only person alive that could threaten his position. She alone knew the truth.

She pulled Rin's warm body more tightly against her own, seeking both to protect and to be protected. She stared at the ceiling, at the vines that cracked the plaster and crawled down the walls, and for the millionth time since arriving, she wished they were all safe at home.


	11. Chapter 11

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

Thursday, Day 11 

Sakura's wristwatch read seven-thirty. She rubbed her eyes. The adrenaline had waned hours earlier, leaving only determination to keep her awake when her body longed for sleep. She keyed her most recent sequence into the computer, feeling the faint shadow of triumph as the simulation cycled exactly as she'd predicted.

Hinagiku and the others meant to kill them.

She scowled at the sample. The single vial was enough to kill everyone on the moon. The virus was disgustingly simple: easy to reproduce and spread through the air. It would kill its victims within two weeks of contamination--quickly, but not too quickly. She'd run data on possible vaccines, but nothing she could think of would stop its growth. Even if she could find a cure, any kind of inoculation would be impossible on a global level. The only possible action was prevention.

She washed her hands and grabbed her blanket from the hook by the door. She was going to need help--stealthy, stubborn, determined help.

She found Jinpachi in the dining hall. He was alone, picking at his breakfast unenthusiastically. Sakura noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes, but didn't want to find out what had kept him from his slumber. She slid into the seat across from him. He nodded dully.

"We have a problem," Sakura began seriously. "Certain members of the crew are anxious for us to give up our planet to them and they need to be stopped."

He suddenly leaped to life, his eyes shining. "What?" he asked suddenly, jumping to his feet. "Sakura, what the hell are you talking about?"

She took a deep breath, reaching over the table to take his hand and guide him back into his seat. "Quiet," she shushed him urgently. "If you don't make such a fuss I'll tell you everything."

Thirty minutes later they were bursting into the room that he shared with Issei. "Issei, wake up," Jinpachi boomed, sliding the door shut. "We have to talk!"

"What's going on?" Issei looked like he'd been up all night too. He sat up in the rumpled bed, his hair in a messy tangle. "What happened?" He looked pointedly at Sakura's hand, her fingers entwined with Jinpachi's. She hurriedly disengaged, a blush creeping over her face. He'd grabbed it while rushing her to their room; because of the urgency, she'd barely noticed.

Jinpachi sat next to his friend on the bed. "She stumbled across Hinagiku and Nadeshiko talking."

"They had a vial," Sakura interrupted, "and they were going to inject Shukkaido with the serum. So I stole it."

"You _stole _it?" Issei was shocked. "It could've been medicine! They're going to notice that it's gone!"

"No, no," Sakura countered impatiently. "I switched it with sugar water. And it _wasn't_ medicine." She repeated to Issei what she'd explained to Jinpachi--that she'd hacked into Nadeshiko's computer files and found the trials run on the virus and information about the additional genetic patterns that made the aliens immune.

"Wait," Issei interrupted. "You hacked into the computers?"

"I've been a hacker for years," Sakura explained quickly, ignoring Issei's look of surprise as she continued. "I did a few trials myself, and statistically this thing could wipe out Japan in less than a year, the entire continents of Asia and North America in less than five--Europe even more quickly. It's nasty, and I'm sure it's part of some plan to get the planet for themselves."

Issei looked confused. "But why would they need it? There are only three of them!"

Jinpachi jumped up, agitated once more. "Who cares why? The fact is that we've got to do something--quick--to save the earth!"

Sakura leaned against the wall, for the first time unconcerned about the moss and lichen. She was exhausted, but it seemed that there wouldn't be time for sleep just yet. She studied Issei, talking animatedly with Jinpachi, and she was reminded of her earlier concerns about what had passed between the two of them. It seemed like a frivolous worry now--just a quiet nag at the back of her mind. God willing, they'd have time to work that out later.

"I think we should tell Hiiragi at least," Issei was saying, "maybe even Shion and Mokuren."

Jinpachi shook his head. "Hiiragi's been pretty chummy with Ayame," he disagreed. "If he doesn't take us seriously, he might say something to her."

"And Mokuren's been stressed-out and spooky lately. She's likely to fall to pieces if more pressure is put on her." Sakura had noticed the other girl's lack of appetite at meals and the skittish reservation in her eyes. "She might have discovered something on her own, even, the way she's been acting. We can't add to her worries with this. And Shion . . . ." She didn't want to express her lingering doubt in his character.

"Shion is a wild card," Jinpachi agreed, scowling. "We have to feel him out first."

Issei stuck to the point. "But if we're separated in this, they might unintentionally undermine our work. It's crucial that we band together!"

Jinpachi put his hand on Issei's shoulder and motioned for Sakura to come closer. His warm hand clasped the back of her neck in a gesture of protective camaraderie. "Then the three of us will band together," Jinpachi said decisively. "It's our secret until the time is right to reveal it. Agreed?"

Sakura nodded, reaching out to grasp Issei's hand, closing the circle. For the first time since overhearing the talk in the library, she felt hopeful, almost safe. She squeezed Issei's fingers, trying to prompt a similar response from him.

He sighed. "Very well. What do we do now?"

Sakura and Jinpachi seemed to be of the same mind. "First we replace their other samples with something harmless," Sakura began.

"And then we ransack their supplies so they can't make more." Jinpachi finished.

Issei sighed again, looking queasy. "And what," he asked slowly, "do we do when they notice we've robbed them?" His eyes were bright with doubt and hopelessness.

Sakura smiled, catching Jinpachi's eye. He grinned back and nodded. Together they looked at Issei. "I guess we fight," Sakura said simply.

Rin looked back at Alice one more time before sliding the door closed. She was still sleeping soundly--the result of another restless night, no doubt. It was early; there was no need to wake her when she needed her sleep.

He didn't know what to do about her. Since that night in the garden, she was uneasy and skittish--obviously terrified of Hinagiku. Rin couldn't blame her. Clearly there was more to these alien scientists than they let on. He'd known from the first that something important had brought them here. Of all the planets in the galaxy, there had to be a reason they'd chosen the earth. He'd been watching everyone very carefully the past few days, and he was almost certain that Daisuke shared his suspicions.

He found his captain in the chapel, deep in thought before a huge painting of Sarjalim. Rin paused at the doorway. His breath caught as he looked at the radiant golden beauty of Shion's goddess. She looked like Mokuren. In spite of his earthly skepticism, a peaceful reverence settled over him as he gazed at her lovely face.

As if sensing his presence, Daisuke looked up. "Kobayashi," he said tiredly, surprising the boy with his use of his Earth name. "I was hoping I'd see you today."

"I was looking for you," Rin answered, coming into the room and sinking to the floor beside the older boy. It looked like Daisuke hadn't even been to bed--dark shadows lined his eyes.

Daisuke motioned toward the painting. "She's really something, isn't she?"

Diffused power seemed to coat the air around them and suddenly Rin understood the fanatic impulses that destroyed entire populations. He felt lofty and dizzy, paradoxical turbulence alongside deep peace. "Just looking at her makes me want to do crazy things," he commented, nodding. "She's amazing."

"She's beautiful," Daisuke acknowledged quietly.

Rin was thoughtful. "Definitely. But that's not the half of it. She makes me feel like I can be strong--powerful and good at the same time."

The captain nodded, his expression grave. "I've been here all night," he said quietly. "Not praying, exactly, but meditating. I think we're in trouble."

"Hinagiku." Rin was glad that Daisuke had already come to the same conclusion. "He's not at all what he wants us to think."

"More than that," Daisuke said, his eyes focused on the ruby Kitche on the goddess's forehead. "He's got the others convinced that they're missionaries of Sarjalim. Nadeshiko, Ayame, they both think they're on some kind of holy crusade." He dropped his head to his knees, his brow crinkling with frustration. "They can do it, too. They've got what they need to overrun the planet."

Rin felt his stomach twist. He'd suspected. "Clones."

Daisuke nodded. "Enough DNA to build a city, and regeneration capsules to speed growth. In a few years they could populate most of Japan."

It was surprising to see how much work and research Daisuke had already put into this. Rin wondered if he'd warmed up Ayame just to get a peek at her research. "Can we destroy them?"

Daisuke looked troubled and a similar expression of Hiiragi's came to Rin's mind. "I'm no good as your leader," the young captain said quietly. "I don't have Ogura's passion or your cunning. Worse, I'm entangled in this." He shook his head. "I don't want to do what we have to do." He stared vacantly, idly yanking grass from the cracks between floor tiles.

Rin put his hand on Daisuke's shoulder, feeling small and not at all like Shion. "Ogura Jinpachi and I don't command the trust that you do. They'll all listen to you, follow your orders."

For a long time Daisuke didn't answer, and Rin wondered if he'd even heard. He knew he'd need his captain if he were going to try to take on these aliens. There was no way he could do it alone, and he suspected that he'd have no luck convincing Jinpachi and the others to help him without Daisuke. A loose plan was formulating in his mind, but he needed at least three people to carry it out.

Daisuke stood. "We can get rid of the DNA right now," he said abruptly. "Ayame's so busy taking care of Kasama, she won't notice if her freezer shuts off--twenty-four hours would be enough to thaw her samples."

Rin jumped to his feet. "That sounds too simple," he hissed, suddenly nervous that they'd be overheard. "How do you know she won't check?"

Daisuke looked sad. "I've spent a lot of time with her, kind of gotten a feel for her routines. She won't check."

As they hurried down the corridors toward the medical labs, Rin was quiet. Daisuke must've taken a particular interest in the pretty doctor if he was that confident in her behavior and personality within two days. A pang of remorse twisted in his stomach. He hadn't considered personal attachments. He looked at Daisuke; the older boy's face was set in lines of determination, and suddenly felt a new respect for his captain.

The hospital room was still and quiet. Mikuro's chair was empty and Ayame was curled up, fast asleep on her cot. Daisuke put his finger to his lips, motioning for silence. As Rin waited near the door, the captain crept slowly across the room and tested the lock on the door to Ayame's lab. It gave. He opened the door soundlessly and slipped inside.

Rin followed nervously. Somehow he hadn't expected the doctor to be right there, practically guarding her laboratory. He held his breath, trying to step in time to the rhythmic hiss of Haruhiko's respirator. Ayame shifted in her sleep, freezing Rin in his tracks. A moment later she turned, mumbling nonsense as she pulled her blanket more securely over herself. Rin exhaled slowly and resumed his steady creep across the floor.

When he closed the door behind him, Rin flinched at the near-silent click of the latch. He peeked through the tiny window, half-expecting a curious face to peer back at him. A couple tense heartbeats later it was clear that she was still asleep. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, he hurried down the short corridor to the lab. He suddenly wondered why he hadn't just teleported the distance--a subconscious impulse to conserve energy? He didn't know, but he had a feeling that he would need all of his telepathic powers before the week was out.

Daisuke had already pulled a huge unit away from the wall and was removing a panel from the backside. A small toolkit--probably Ayame's--rested on the floor next to him.

"Why not just unplug it?" Rin asked, noticing a thick cord running back behind the desk.

"She'd notice if it were too quiet," Daisuke explained. "I need to cut power to the refrigeration cell, but leave the fan running."

Even listening carefully, Rin hardly heard the hum of the fan. Still, he was glad that Daisuke had really thought this through. He crouched next to his friend. "If I hadn't said anything to you, would you have done this alone?"

Daisuke didn't look up from his task. Removing the panel, he passed it to Rin. "Doubt it," he answered matter-of-factly. "I certainly thought about it," he said, untangling the web of cables, "but I wasn't convinced it was the best thing to do. Plus there were other things holding me back."

Rin watched as he carefully snipped the wires leading to the large refrigeration cell that occupied most of the space in the compartment. "What made you change your mind?"

Looking at Rin for the first time, Daisuke smiled cheerlessly. "The way you looked at that picture of Sarjalim like a kid in love, it kind of made me think that there were things that needed to be protected, things that had nothing at all to do with me and my mixed-up feelings."

Rin didn't know how to answer that. He realized that this was very likely the first time that Daisuke had ever shared more than impersonal information with him--in either lifetime. It made him feel good in a way that Shion wouldn't have understood. "I'm glad we're working together."

"Hand me the cover," he said, back to business, but Rin saw him smile through his words. He picked up the awkward sheet metal and passed it clumsily to Daisuke.

"Freeze!" An angry voice from the doorway made them both turn.

"Ayame!" Daisuke was on his feet, the discarded panel clattering to the ground. Rin crouched near the floor, his eyes on the weapon in the doctor's hands. It looked like some kind of gun. Physical weapons hadn't figured into his calculations; he'd assumed that Nadeshiko and Hinagiku would be his only opponents, as ESPers. Making a mental note to get all of the non-ESPers from earth armed in some way, Rin stood slowly, his hands raised.

Ayame looked terrified. Her hands shook on the gun and fear mixed with anger in her face. She aimed the gun first at Rin, then Daisuke. "I know you have mental powers," she told Rin, "so I'm warning you--I'll shoot your friend if you try anything."

"He's not going to hurt you, Ayame," the captain said calmly. "Neither am I. Please, put down the weapon."

Tears trembled in the corners of her eyes. "No," she argued. "You're meddling in my research. You're threatening the mission. I have to take you to Nadeshiko. We'll have to imprison every one of you."

Casting a significant look to Rin, Daisuke took a step forward. Rin flinched, seeing Ayame's finger twitch near the trigger. He wondered if Daisuke had any idea what he was doing.

Daisuke's voice was soothing. "You know that Hinagiku won't imprison us," he reminded her slowly. "Sending us to him would be worse than killing us yourself, right now." He coaxed her closer to him with his hands. "Come on, then, why don't you give me the gun?"

Ayame stepped back, shaking her head. "Stay away, Daisuke! One more step and Hinagiku won't have the option of making you his prisoner. I read everything you told me to. I read Gyokuran's study and everyone else's. You're right about the planet--it's completely unsuitable." Tears streamed down her cheeks now, unheeded. "But you don't understand. This is desperate! My people will die!"

"Your people _did _die!" Daisuke reminded her emphatically. "Almost twenty years ago! This mission won't bring back your family and friends, Ayame."

"You don't understand what it's like to be the last of your kind--to know that every single person you loved is dead and you have no home to return to." Ayame's hands shook but she kept the gun aimed at Daisuke's chest. "I have the technology to build another homeland. Anyone in my place would do the same!"

Rin's heart was racing. He understood. He remembered the hopelessness, the despair, but he also knew that stealing someone else's home out from under them wasn't the answer. Hiiragi had been right all those years ago, to forbid them to go down to the planet.

He knew what he had to do, and quickly. While Ayame's attention was focused on his companion, he closed his eyes. A moment later he was behind Ayame. She wasn't that much taller than him--he thought he could take her easily. With a yelp he jumped at her, curling his hands around the cold metal of the gun's barrel. She cried out, twisting out of his grasp, surprising him with her speed and strength. Rin stumbled.

A heartbeat later he was caught. She pinned him to the ground with her knee, the barrel of the gun pressed hard to the back of his head. Rin's world was spinning. Part of him was ready to teleport, but he knew that if he disappeared to save himself, Daisuke would be in even more danger. He clenched his eyes shut, balling his hands into fists. He never thought it'd end like this. His eyes stung and his neck hurt from pushing his head against the floor in an instinctual attempt to pull away from the gun.

"Ayame, don't." Daisuke's voice was shaking. Rin focused hard on his voice, knowing that as long as he could hear him talking, he had a chance. "You won't execute him like that. You can't. He's just a kid."

"I can." She was sobbing. "I will."

"I know you. You can't do this. You're a doctor; you heal people." Rin heard a scuff of a footstep and prayed that Daisuke wasn't really trying to walk closer. "Please, Ayame. Please drop the gun."

The pressure of the barrel against Rin's head seemed to waver. "How do I know you won't kill me?" Her voice was small.

"Damn it, Ayame," Daisuke sounded beaten. "I couldn't kill anyone. Least of all, you."

The pistol fell with a clatter, skidding against the tiles as her weight left Rin's back. He lay still for a long time, willing his breath to even out and trying not to cry. When he finally looked up, Daisuke was kneeling on the floor, Ayame collapsed and sobbing in his arms like a child. His captain looked at him over his shoulder and smiled.

Rin smiled weakly in return, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees. They'd survived and succeeded in this first step. It felt good to be alive. They had a long road ahead of them, though--Rin had a feeling that this had been the easy part.

He fished the weapon from beneath a cabinet, realizing as he did that there was no way he could get Alice to touch it, much less use it. He looked at Daisuke, smoothing Ayame's short hair and crooning comfort into her ears. The captain had a lot to worry about, but maybe he could be persuaded to help watch out for Alice.

He slid the gun into Daisuke's hand, surprised when the captain casually shoved it into his waistband without missing a single beat in soothing the doctor. Rin was impressed. Apparently there was much more to Hiiragi than his seven bald spots and passion for dead languages. Saluting the captain silently, Rin slipped out the door.

It was well after noon when Alice finally got to Haru's room for her daily visit. When she woke, Rin was nowhere to be found, so she'd grabbed a bit of lunch and headed straight to the hospital room. The whole base seemed strangely deserted that day--the only person she'd seen was Issei, and he was oddly reluctant to talk to her as they ate together. Even Haru's room was basically empty; the doctor's cot was folded and shoved into a corner, and Mikuro's chair was vacant.

Alice sank into it, satisfied that Haru, at least, could not avoid her.

Haruhiko's breathing was shallow; his chest barely moved with each inhalation. His face had taken on a waxy look, and Alice had to touch his skin to convince herself that he was real. He was warm. She traced her fingers along the curve of his jaw and over his chin. He was lovely. Even after she'd learned the truth about his reincarnation, learned that he wasn't Shion after all, her heart still pounded a little faster and her breath came a little short when he entered a room.

She looked at the fluid-filled tank in the corner. One more day. By this time tomorrow he might be healthy again, awake and ready to go home. Alice hoped so. She felt more than a little to blame for his being there. She couldn't wait for him to smile again, for them to start over and be friends for real. She couldn't wait until this was all over, until she was back in her own home, in her own bed where she could pretend this whole adventure was all a bad dream.

She knew she had to tell Rin about her memory. The truth about Hinagiku was important, but she dreaded explaining it to him and the others. She wondered why Kiku had been so determined to take her mentor's place on this mission. What kind of plans did he have for them, for the planet? She knew that if she told the others before she knew all the facts, they'd want to fight, assuming that Earth was in danger.

But didn't she assume the same thing? A nagging little voice in the back of her head said yes. What could they do about it? They were just seven kids--one unconscious even--and a young man who might have no inclination at all to help them. Even if they could fight, they'd have to wait at least a day so that Haru could be healed. Alice tried to imagine Jinpachi or Rin sitting patiently for more than a few hours.

"What do you think, Haruhiko?" Alice whispered, twining her fingers with his. "How do we fix this if we're in over our heads?"

"I'm glad that I'm not the only one on this goddamn base that thinks we could be drowning here."

Alice jumped, twisting in her chair to see who was at the door. "Yakushimaru! I didn't hear you come in!" She hopped up and bowed politely, her hair hiding her flushed face.

Mikuro pushed his hair out of his eyes, walking to the other side of Haruhiko's bed. His eyes scanned each monitor and he pressed his palm against Haru's forehead, testing for a fever. Alice had seen this ritual before. He always made sure his friend was stable before sitting down at his vigilant post. Seeming satisfied, he turned to Alice.

"So what's got you so worried? The locals finally starting to creep you out?"

Alice flinched. His casual tone made her uncomfortable--even when they both sat with Haruhiko together, it was usually in silence. "I'm afraid it's more serious than that," she replied formally. "But not your concern, really." She attempted a smile.

"Like hell!" Mikuro leaned closer over Haru's prone form. "As long as I'm on this base, as long as my friend is up here, then it's definitely my concern. If you know something about these aliens that you're not telling--"

"I don't know anything! Really!"

He studied her for a hard minute before relaxing. Alice felt herself tremble under his scrutiny. Maybe she should tell him the truth. His perspective might help her decide how to tell Rin and the others. But he seemed so oppressive, somehow, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"I guess I might as well tell you what I know," Mikuro continued, his voice gentler. "That way you'll know I can be trusted."

Alice listened in shock as he told her about his tampered control panel, his suspicion that someone wanted him out of the way. "And yesterday, the captain and her boyfriend came waltzing in here to inject Haru with something. I didn't like that the doc wasn't around to supervise something as serious as an injection, so I pretended to be asleep, but then 'woke up' before they had a chance to give him the shot. As I suspected, they left--they wouldn't do it when I was there to see. I wasn't about to leave Haru after that, but the doc nagged me to go to bed this morning, and she promised to watch him. I sort of trust her, you see." He looked around the room. "Was she here when you came in?"

Alice shook her head.

Mikuro cursed. "Then they probably got him." He glanced frantically at the machines monitoring his condition, verifying that nothing had changed, then looked at Haruhiko sadly. "No matter what anyone says, I'm not leaving this bedside." He bent his head and whispered in his friend's ear. "Sorry, Kid. Be strong. I won't let you down again."

The husky promise in his voice made Alice's breath catch. Mikuro wasn't a bad guy, and she needed to talk to someone. "Hinagiku isn't who he says he is," she blurted. "I don't know if it means anything or not, but I suspect he killed the real Hinagiku to take his place."

Mikuro let his breath out in a long hiss. "That's important. I don't have the first idea how it figures in, or what the hell's going on here, but it's definitely good to know." He smiled at Alice and she realized he had a nice face when he wasn't being scary. "We're in this together, Mokuren," he said decisively. "From now on, we help each other out."

Alice nodded. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him not to call her Mokuren when he continued.

"You were a big deal back then, huh? A real powerful person?"

Alice couldn't deny it. Mokuren had more power than she'd ever dared use. As a Kitche Sarjalian she had abilities that were forbidden to speak of, much less use. She nodded. "Mokuren could do a lot," she said quietly.

"And Shion--the kid. Can you use your past-life abilities the way he can?"

She didn't want to say yes, but no wasn't an honest answer either. She could talk to plants and animals, to make things grow, but Rin was special. He could do things that she'd never dreamed of. "I'm not like him," she stammered. "I can't tap into Mokuren the way he can with Shion." She didn't know how to explain it to Mikuro, who had lived his whole life with ESP. "I'm not Mokuren anymore. I'm not special like Haruhiko or Rin."

Mikuro eyed her skeptically. Alice felt like she was shrinking under his look. "I don't know about that. If reincarnation works this way, then you should be able to do even more than Haru or Shion! You have to try harder. I think we need Mokuren to win this."

"But we don't even know what 'this' is!" Alice felt panic welling inside of her, making her stomach churn violently. "And you don't understand how it is to be me--to remember being Mokuren but not have any of her control!"

Mikuro stood up, staring down at her from under his pale hair. "Haru's life might depend on this! All of our lives might! Don't be a coward, Mokuren."

Alice felt like crying. "I'm not Mokuren!" she cried. "Sarjalim doesn't even love me anymore! She's turned her back on me because I betrayed her a long time ago!" She hid her face in her hands, trying to force the tears back into her eyes. "I'm just plain old Alice and I can't do anything."

Before he could counter with another harsh observation, Alice stood, knocking the chair over with the force of her legs. Bowing a hasty farewell, she turned and ran from the room.


	12. Chapter 12

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

Friday, Day 12 

The earth was rising. Ayame sighed as she watched--she'd seen a lot of planets, but none as blue as this one. So much water--it was odd to see so little land. Odd, but beautiful. She pulled Daisuke's jacket more securely around her shoulders. She'd taken it while he was still sleeping. Fishing the little plastic ID card from his pocket, she smiled. She'd found it earlier, and couldn't resist having another look at it.

The picture was tiny and sloppy, but it was definitely Daisuke. His eyes squinted at the camera and he wore a serious look on his face. Ayame smiled; she knew that his dull expression hid a brilliant mind and an overactive imagination. She studied the details on the card: his height, weight, hair color, and blood type. He was born very recently in Earth years--barely eighteen, if she figured it correctly. She wondered how old a child from that planet had to be to be considered an adult.

He certainly behaved like one. She blushed, remembering how badly she'd acted the day before and how very kind he'd been despite it. She'd spent most of the day in turmoil over her decisions, and he didn't leave her side for a moment. Early this morning, when she'd stealthily untangled herself from his arms, he'd protested in his sleep, pulling her closer as she tried to slip away.

She looked again at the earth. His home. She knew from the beginning that it was foolish; getting involved with Daisuke would only complicate her job. But it was too late; she'd already complicated it by listening to him, by looking at him.

"You're not usually an early riser, Ayame." Nadeshiko wove her way through the tangle of flowers and weeds, smiling at Ayame's startled expression. "Something on your mind?"

It wasn't good that Nadeshiko had been able to catch her off guard. Ayame reminded herself that this longtime companion of hers--this friend--was not someone she could trust anymore. She'd made up her mind to stand by Daisuke and the others from Earth.

She laughed, surprising herself with how genuinely casual it sounded. "Shukkaido's operation," she answered easily. It was true; the delicate procedure had been nagging the back of her mind for days now. "It's been a long time since I've had to do anything so serious."

Nadeshiko smiled, and Ayame longed for the easy friendship they'd shared in the beginning, before Hinagiku complicated everything. After Nadeshiko fell in love with him, she had hardly a moment to spare for Ayame or the others. She was always a solid captain, but the more personal relationships had quickly faded away. The rest of the crew had died relatively early in the mission, not long after the destruction of their home; the pain of their deaths had been intensified for Ayame by the feeling of being an outsider in the captain's exclusive relationship.

"You'll be brilliant," Nadeshiko assured her. "If the most talented doctor ever born can't manage a simple heart transplant, then I don't know what the world is coming to." A dark confusion flickered over the captain's features as she realized what she'd said. The world had already come to its end; at least their world had. Ayame was still grappling with the idea that it was really over.

Nadeshiko pulled her pale blond hair away from her neck, piling it on top of her head like a young girl testing an up-do. She gazed at the blue planet, unmistakable anticipation in her eyes. "Has there been any change in his condition? Your patient, I mean."

Ayame didn't trust the artificial concern in her captain's voice. "None," she replied cautiously. In truth, she hadn't been in to check on him all night. Worry prickled her spine. "Should there be?"

A slow smile curved Nadeshiko's lips. "Oh no, I was just concerned. He is, after all, my responsibility. It would be terrible if anything happened to him before he could get his operation."

Ayame realized that she was supposed to see through her captain's doublespeak; she was supposed to be in on the game of exterminating these young people. Her stomach lurched, forcing her to swallow hard to keep the bile from rising in her throat. How could they believe for a moment that she would be part of their massacre?

She squeezed Daisuke's ID card in her hand, grateful for the painful cut of plastic in her skin. It was good that her one-and-a-half million vials of DNA were slowly thawing into useless bio-matter. She had made the right decision. Even without considering the complicated feelings she had for Shukkaido and Mikuro, for Mokuren and Enju, for Daisuke, refusing to continue her mission was the only choice she had. "I should prepare for the surgery," she said nervously, anxious to check Shukkaido's condition.

She thought she saw Nadeshiko's eyes narrow, but then the captain smiled, showering Ayame with her radiant beauty. "By all means," Nadeshiko said graciously. "I'm sure Sarjalim will be with you." She reached out and clasped Ayame's hand in an affectionate gesture.

Ayame pulled away, immediately self-conscious that she'd reacted too abruptly. She laughed. "She'll almost need to be." Pulling Daisuke's jacket more snugly against her, Ayame turned to go.

She tried to keep her pace even and unhurried, but it was hard to be casual with Nadeshiko's eyes boring into her back.

Trying to distract herself from the milling turmoil in her head, Alice wandered aimlessly through the dim, mossy halls of the moon base. She dragged her fingers over the walls as she walked, getting peace from the springy plants that grew there. Occasionally she paused to whisper to a flower or clump of leaves, amazed by their tenacious will to live in such an environment. Shion would have gone mad, waking to find creepers springing through the cracks in the walls and ceilings. Alice smiled, remembering his almost-neurotic drive to keep things clean.

Those days that had seemed so tragic, so awful, were nostalgic now. Alice almost missed the pain of watching her companions die, of learning of her planet's demise--at least Mokuren had things to feel. All Alice could do was wait--anxiously watch and wait for things to happen.

She turned down a corridor and paused, confused. She barely remembered this part of the maze-like base. She blinked at the lush vegetation pushing through the floor, reaching in the dimness for the energy-giving lights. It looked like no one had walked through there in years. Alice whispered an apology to the grasses and groundcover she trod upon, and crept forward. She had no fear of meeting Hinagiku or any of the others--when she had come close to Hinagiku's room earlier that morning the plants had warned her to go, whispering their frantic cautions in her mind until she fled the opposite direction.

Beyond the occasional greeting and exclamation of surprise of meeting one kindred, the plants were silent here. Alice walked slowly down the corridor, confused by the lack of doors on either side. Apparently the hall led directly to one room and was not an access route to several, as was usually the case. She wondered what kind of room was so special that it had to be separated from the living and working quarters. She strained at the edges of her memory to find some clue in Mokuren's past about this place, but nothing came.

When she finally reached the end of the corridor, Alice stopped. There seemed to be no door. She slid her hands beneath the curly shoots of a fern, searching for a knob or button. Nothing. She paused, wondering at this hallway leading nowhere. It was impossible. The designers of this base would not have made that kind of mistake.

_Sing._

It was almost an impulse, a fluttering behind her consciousness like a flickering of light. Alice blinked in confusion.

_Sing, _it pulsed again in the voices of flowers.

She looked wonderingly at the fragrant vine of moonflowers that dipped low above her head. "Thank you," she whispered, tracing the fluted edges with her fingertips. She sensed their merry laughter at her touch--how simple it would be to be a flower.

Out of habit, Alice looked behind her, checking to make sure no one had followed her and would hear her singing. The song was already filling her, waiting to escape. It was Rin's favorite. Relaxing at the thought of her friend, she let her voice fill the hall with the soft melody. At first it seemed muffled, as if the moss were absorbing her song, but gradually her voice grew stronger. She closed her eyes, almost feeling the squeeze of Rin's fingers around hers as she reached his favorite lines.

She heard a scrape and felt the sigh of old air on her face. She opened her eyes. The wall was gone, having slid away to reveal a darkened room.

Alice stepped into the chamber, her eyes wide in the darkness as she strained to see. The scent of the air reminded her of Shion and of the others--it was the scent of her memories. The panel slid closed behind her, and for a moment she was alone in pitch darkness.

Gradually, almost imperceptibly at first, the room brightened and the silence was filled with a hum like the resonance of a tuning fork. Pinpoints of light glowed on the domed ceiling, and Alice recognized the patterns as constellations--Adru, the boar; Yokitzu, the warrior. None of these were stars she knew from Earth; this was Mokuren's sky. In the center of the room stood a pedestal holding a huge glowing ball. It pulsed with a faint green light, almost pulling Alice toward it against her will.

She remembered this place. Only once had Mokuren been there, early in the mission when there was still a hope that they wouldn't be spending the rest of their lives on Earth's moon. Alice walked to the orb. She instinctively knew that it would be cool to the touch.

It responded to her, glowing a fiercely as she pressed her fingers on its smooth surface. Tendrils of light arched toward her fingertips, bright enough to make her blink. Alice felt surges of power flowing up the arteries in her hands and arms, circulating her body through her blood. It was cool and comforting. This was the power of the goddess. The stars above her glimmered and flashed, drawing her eyes upward to watch the vibrant show of lights.

_You are recognized as a Child of Sarjalim. _The words formed themselves in Alice's mind--not in Japanese but still completely understood. _Select a destination, Chosen One. _Images of star maps surged through her consciousness, spinning her through countless planetary systems before narrowing in on the one place she longed to be--the planet Earth.

Breathing hard, Alice pulled away. This was a transporter. This was why a Sarjalian was needed on every space mission. She remembered Mokuren's hunger to use this to go to the planet, to embrace the earth as one of its creatures.

Alice blinked in sudden realization. They could go home. Without having to worry about Haruhiko or anyone else getting sick, they could go home.

Singing a few compulsory notes, she opened the door and fled down the corridor. Elation flooded her every nerve--she was still a Child of Sarjalim. The goddess hadn't abandoned her. She hadn't realized until just that moment how much it had hurt her to believe that Mokuren's power wasn't flowing through her veins. She needed to tell someone. Not Rin--he had always believed in her and wouldn't understand her doubt. Shukkaido.

"Haruhiko!" her voice was breathless and excited as she burst into the room hurried to his bedside. "It's so amazing! I have the power of Sarjalim! I can take us home!" She picked up his hand and squeezed gently. Of course she got no response, not even the tiniest fluttering of eyelashes, but she knew better than to be disappointed. His operation was scheduled for that day. Soon he'd be able to smile and talk to her like he had that first day in the park so long ago.

She combed his hair from his forehead, secretly promising herself to make a point to include him in her day-to-day life. More than just a shared history bonded the seven of them. She was beginning to realize that. Without hesitating, she spilled out the details of her discovery, her elation growing as she realized that they could go home at any time.

The door opened suddenly and Ayame bustled in, looking professional in a clean white jumpsuit and operating cap. "I'll have to chase you both out now," she said briskly. Alice looked up in alarm, noticing for the first time that Mikuro sat on Ayame's cot, watching her. She felt her face burn--she hadn't meant to share her zeal with him as well. He stood slowly, looking briefly at Alice before meeting Ayame's gaze.

"I'm not leaving," he said stubbornly, his eyes flickering from Ayame to Haruhiko's still form. "You need an assistant, right? Let me help."

Ayame laughed. "Absolutely not." She pressed a button and a series of robotic arms released themselves from the wall. Alice was surprised; she hadn't noticed them there. "My assistant doesn't make mistakes and it certainly doesn't second-guess my decisions." She glowered good-naturedly at Mikuro. "Besides," her tone was suddenly serious. "You don't want to see this."

Alice wasn't about to argue. She amazed herself by grasping Mikuro by the arm and guiding him into the hallway. She didn't let go until she heard the quiet click of the door lock.

"You look different," Mikuro commented as he pulled away to peer into the door's tiny window. "It's like you're standing up straight for the first time." It was clear that he was more interested in the proceedings within, but Alice sensed that he really noted the change in her.

She smiled. "I feel different. For the first time, I feel like I can help. I almost feel . . . ." She hesitated, the words not coming easily. "I almost feel like Mokuren," Alice finished quietly.

Mikuro turned, a bright look in his usually stern eyes. "I think you can learn a lot from her, Sakaguchi." The barest hint of a smile edged his mouth.

She felt herself grinning, flushed with pleasure at his use of her real name. She suspected that he might be right. The residual power that seemed to hum through her body might not amount to anything, but it made her feel self-assured and confident in a way she hadn't felt since Mokuren's lifetime. Even the idea of running into Hinagiku didn't scare her as much as it had earlier.

"Please watch over Haruhiko," she said as a farewell. "Thank you for encouraging me." She bowed briefly and ran up the hallway, suddenly longing to explain everything to Rin.

For the first time in his life, Ogura Jinpachi knew everything. He smirked to himself as the unlocked door gave easily under his touch. Nadeshiko and Hinagiku were in the library; Issei had planted himself nearby so that he could telepathically warn Jinpachi if they were headed his way. Ayame was in the operating room, probably just beginning Haruhiko's surgery. Mikuro was hovering outside the door of the operating room; he wouldn't budge until allowed to go inside. Alice was in Mokuren's garden, Rin was in the library, and Sakura was posted down the hallway, ready to sprint up and warn him if anyone came that way. It was good to be in on the truth, to know everything that was going on. It made Jinpachi feel important.

He slid the door shut behind him, fishing a pair of latex gloves from his pockets. Sakura had warned him not to touch the samples, not to inhale them, not to even stay in the room for very long. He slid a filtering paper mask over his mouth--it reflected his hot breath back onto his face, making him realize that he was sweating. For the first time since coming to the moon, he was too hot.

Nadeshiko's desk was cluttered with papers and charts. Jinpachi scanned a few, realizing quickly that they were the demographics of the earth that he himself had compiled as Gyokuran. Thinking that he'd inadvertently helped them made his stomach hurt. He crumpled one map in his fist; it seemed fitting that he should also be the one to ruin their plans.

He moved over to the worktables. They were much neater. Jinpachi scanned both tables for small vials, but found none. Sakura had predicted that. Following her instruction, he shifted his attention to the huge box refrigeration unit. He opened the lid, enjoying the cool air that flowed against his face.

The cooler was stacked with trays, and each tray--Jinpachi did a quick count--held two-dozen tiny bottles. He pulled the first tray out, glad to see that the serum inside the vials was frozen. That would make things a lot easier. He pulled his pack from his back and dumped the vials inside. Soon it was nearly full, and surprisingly heavy.

He slid the pack back over his shoulders and carefully stacked the trays back inside the freezer. He scanned the room quickly, but it was clear that this was the only cooler. Slamming the lid shut, he hurried to the door. Now his time was crucial. He had to destroy them before they thawed--he wasn't completely sure that the bottles hadn't cracked when he'd tossed them into his backpack.

"You got them all?" Sakura fell into place with him as soon as he was out the door.

"Two hundred forty," he answered quickly. "It looks like they were going to hit the planet with it one region at a time. How soon can you crash their computers?"

Sakura grinned, and Jinpachi realized how much he liked hanging out with her. "I took care of that as soon as Issei verified that they were out of the lab."

Jinpachi followed her down the maze of corridors until they reached the space jettison port. He swung the bag from his back, but hesitated before shoving it into the portal. "I don't like the idea of leaving this up here," he said quickly. "Suppose people really do come back to the moon to build resorts or whatever. Won't they get infected?"

Sakura looked up at him, snapping a latex glove over her hand. "I'm sure they'll do quality control tests before letting anyone build false atmospheres. Besides, I don't think this virus can live for more than a few weeks outside of a host. The freezing temperatures may prolong the lifespan a bit, but not by much." She opened their end of the port and grinned at him. "Ready to save the world?"

"Always." Jinpachi unzipped the bag and dumped the cascade of samples into the bin. He didn't want to give up the backpack--it was his favorite. Sakura met his eye and shook her head. It was probably contaminated. He shoved it into the bin along with his gloves and mask. Sakura tossed her gloves in, too. "They're gonna wonder how this got up here," he joked as he closed the little door.

Sakura snickered. "I suspect they'll wonder about this base, too," she commented dryly. She pressed the jettison button and they heard a mechanical click and swish as the airlock opened outside the base.

"So we're done with phase one." Jinpachi wanted to let Issei know right away, but didn't have the telepathic gift to contact him. Phase two had begun--waiting for Nadeshiko and the others to realize they'd been robbed.

"Should we tell the others now?"

Jinpachi was startled; Sakura never asked him for advice. "Soon," he said slowly. "We'll need them when it comes to the fight--"

"Phase three." Her interruption was almost a giggle. She'd been laughing at his names for each segment since he'd first suggested them.

"Yes," he conceded, "phase three." A shiver of fear ran down Jinpachi's spine. He was nervous about explaining things--he wasn't sure how the others would react--but they had no choice but to unite soon. All together, seven against three, he had no doubt that they could win. But one-on-one? Jinpachi didn't relish the idea of meeting Hinagiku alone in a dark corridor.

After forty minutes of searching, Issei found Sakura in the chapel. He paused in the doorway, awed by the gentle diffusion of light that radiated from the shrine, washing over an otherwise dim, ordinary chamber. He wondered where the light originated; it seemed to have no source but the painting of Sarjalim itself. Sakura was on the floor in the midst of this mystic glow. She sat still, almost meditative in the silent room.

He came to her as silently as possible and lowered himself to the floor, twisting his legs in the lotus position to match hers. For a long time they didn't speak--Sakura stared silently at Sarjalim, keeping her face expressionless and thoughts to herself. Issei pretended to do the same, but stole quick glances at her instead.

She was beautiful. Issei's pulse quickened. Sakura had always been pretty in an unexceptional sort of way, but this was the first time she seemed to glisten with beauty. He wondered if he was looking through biased eyes or if, for the first time, his preconceptions had been lifted.

Things had changed between them in the eight days since she kissed him. Issei could barely comprehend that it had been just a week--it seemed to him that months had passed. He waited for her to finish praying, all the while trying to sort out his thoughts. For the first time with Sakura, words didn't come easily. He almost didn't have the nerve. After all, the things he needed to tell her weren't pressing--in the shadow of a pandemic catastrophe they seemed almost trivial--and he knew he would find time enough to explain before it was all over.

She turned to him finally, her eyes unconsciously bright with happiness to see him. Issei's heart lurched. Of course he would tell her.

"Everything went beautifully, Issei," she said smiling before he had summoned the courage to speak. "The virus is gone, the computers are jammed, and neither Jinpachi nor I were even the littlest bit contaminated!"

He nodded. "Jinpachi told me. He complained about your lack of skill with a needle though." Apparently a blood test had been required to ensure a clean bill of heath. The bruise on his friend's arm was enough to make Issei glad it wasn't him.

Sakura sniffed. "I never claimed to be a doctor," she said loftily. Then she giggled, leaning in toward him conspiratorially. "But I never told him just how unsteady and clumsy I am, either."

Issei laughed with her, but he didn't really want to talk about Jinpachi. "Sakura," he began seriously. "I've been needing to talk to you." It took all the control he could muster to keep his voice from shaking.

She looked away, pulling her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "It's okay, Issei," she said quietly. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to. I saw the way he was looking at you in the capsule room. I felt your reaction--your whole body was shaking." She sighed, twirling her shoelace around her finger. "I knew you'd come to tell me soon," her voice broke and she pressed her forehead to her knees. "I just kind of hoped it wouldn't be _this _soon."

She had it all wrong. Issei wanted to laugh, but he wanted to cry because she was crying. He wanted to put his arms around her and explain everything, but he couldn't because every little thing meant so much more now. "I turned him down." That was all he could manage in his confusion.

She didn't speak, didn't move. Issei didn't breathe. For a long time he didn't know if she'd heard him. "I turned him down," he repeated.

"I heard you." Her voice was muffled and unnaturally high.

Taking a deep breath, Issei continued. "I told him it was time to move on, that we couldn't be ruled by our pasts. I told him I didn't want to die with regrets this time." He hadn't expected to have to explain this to her. Even as he said it, a tiny part of him, the part that was more Enju than Issei, cried out in alarm that he'd done something so foolish. But he knew he'd made the right choice; this time around the regrets would lie beyond Gyokuran.

"Oh Enju," her voice was little more than a sigh. "I've gotten you confused and you've gone and done something stupid, haven't you?" She looked up him, her tears dried and a simple smile of resignation on her face. "You've waited two lifetimes for this, haven't you?" she scolded. "I want you to march right back to Gyokuran and tell him you're in love with him."

Issei stared at her face, amazed at how little of her true emotions she showed there. Only a quiet sadness in her eyes gave her away. "I thought of you," he said softly, reaching out to catch her hand in his. "Jinpachi was talking to me, telling me everything I thought I wanted to hear, but in my head there was only you. I knew I'd regret it, giving up what I want for what Enju wanted."

"What you want?" Sakura echoed in a whisper, looking down at their clasped hands.

Issei struggled against his shyness. Tugging gently on her hand, he tipped her closer. Her long hair brushed against his wrist as he steadied her with a hand on the shoulder. For a moment he looked into her eyes, excited by the disbelieving anticipation he saw there. He closed his eyes and pressed his mouth against hers, kissing softly.

She responded gently, tightening her grip on his hand and leaning closer. Her lips parted beneath his and for a while Issei was aware of no more than the sweet taste and warmth of her. When they finally separated, both were flushed and slightly breathless.

"Are you sure?" Sakura's lips were pink and damp, her eyes bright. "I don't think I could stand being second to Jinpachi."

Issei smiled. She thought she knew him too well to trust him, did she? He closed his eyes, concentrating his energy on convincing her. It took just a moment to get his mind into hers; she left it open to him, almost welcoming.

_I'm in love with you. _He sent the message telepathically, unsure he had the confidence to say the words out loud. _Since coming here, I've learned to separate myself from Enju. Enju loved Gyokuran. I see only you. _To punctuate his thoughts, he concentrated a rush of his own emotions and pushed them in her direction.

He felt her response, less in words than in feelings. He felt the lurch of her heart, the overwhelming happiness that showed itself in a myriad of brilliant colors. "Issei," Sakura breathed, adding her voice to the whirling spectrum in his mind. "You're all I ever wanted."

Her words were laced with suggestive emotion, and suddenly Issei's body demanded to have her. Not breaking their mental connection, he pulled her tightly against his body, claiming her mouth in a passionate kiss. If her physical response was enthusiastic, her mental reaction was almost primal, and he lowered her to the floor in his need to get closer. For the first time in his life, Issei understood the clawing need that drove the boys in his class to waste valuable study time in the pursuit of love. Nothing mattered but the girl pinned beneath him.

Passion and love flashed between their minds in hot colors, and before long Issei could no longer tell the source of any particular feeling. His emotions mingled so solidly with hers that they scarcely seemed to belong to separate people. Her kisses were frantic and her hands slid, hot and possessive, on his back beneath his shirt. _Issei, I need you. _Her pleading voice in his mind matched the glow in her eyes.

He wanted to. Somehow he remembered this; it hadn't been him or Sakura, but he remembered the driving need and the explosive culmination. He remembered the physicality of bonding, and he wanted to feel that close to Sakura.

But a half-memory pulled at the corner of his mind; wasn't he already that close to her? Her brainwaves were as familiar as his own; the colors of her mind branded into his memory as solidly as any lover's. His eighteen-year-old body demanded it--hers did, too--but some lingering memory hinted that too much too soon could hurt for too long.

Enju.

Sakura, privy to all that had been spinning through his mind, understood. She blinked, somehow regaining some kind of inner calm in the instant that her eyes were closed. The colors that swirled between them cooled, gradually changing from vivid oranges and reds to gentle shades of blue and purple. Issei was breathless and shaking, noticing her bruised lips and flushed face. He wasn't sure what had come over them. He moved away from her, situating himself upright on the cool floor.

"I think it was the telepathy," Sakura said quietly, pushing her hair from her eyes. "It bonded us closer, without the usual hesitation as you wonder what the other person wants."

Even as she spoke, Issei could hear the giddy anticipation of truly intimate sex echo in her mind. "Not yet." Issei spoke for his own benefit; his body was already responding to her mental suggestion. "We can't do this." He quickly ended the telepathy, building fast barriers between their minds.

They were quiet for a long time, holding hands as they got used to the silence and loneliness in their minds. Issei stared at the portrait of Sarjalim, abashed at the thought of what he'd almost done before the face of the goddess. It had been the same with Enju and Gyokuran--she'd played around with mental links, and soon they were overwhelmed and in bed together. That was why she'd never gotten over him; she knew his mind too well to really believe he might have been using her.

Sakura dropped her head onto his shoulder, surprising Issei from his memories. "I love you," she whispered easily. "And if there were anyone I'd want to lose control with, it'd be you."

He smiled. She was absolutely--

Two loud retorts--the sound of gunshots--made them both jump. The scream that followed chilled Issei's blood. "Oh my God," he said quietly, working hard to control the panic welling inside him.

Sakura clutched his arm, terror in her eyes. "That sounded like Alice," she cried, finishing his thought.

Jubilant singing drew Rin to the garden. She sounded happy, almost powerful. She didn't seem to notice when he opened the door--she faced away, gazing happily at the earth as she sang and watered plants. "Alice?"

She spun around, a happy smile on her face. "Oh Rin! Today Haruhiko has his operation and we can go home!" She rushed through the tangle of flowers to catch him in a tight hug. "And once we're home, we can forget about all of this!"

Rin blushed, not used to spontaneous affection from her. He enjoyed the feeling of her arms around him, but he was too aware of himself and his love for her to hug back. He wondered what had caused her sudden turnaround--just yesterday she'd been listless and miserable.

She pulled away and beamed happily at him, humming again as she turned back to the care of her flowers. Rin hated to burst her bubble, but there was no way they'd be going home without some kind of showdown with the aliens. Destroying their DNA library wasn't really enough--as long as Hinagiku and Nadeshiko had control of the base, they had the power to destroy the planet. He didn't want to leave them that option, especially once they discovered their grand plans were sabotaged.

All alien worries aside, Rin wasn't even sure how they could get back to the planet. There was no way any of them would allow Kasama Haruhiko to help transport them, new heart or not. Without his power, Rin couldn't be sure they'd all make it home.

"I've discovered the most wonderful room," Alice announced, seeming to hear Rin's unvoiced concerns. "Apparently Mokuren had the power, in this special room, to teleport everyone to whatever location she wished--it's some kind of transporter. I hadn't remembered it at all until I stumbled across it this morning." She stepped lightly over to the water faucet to refill her watering can. "And guess what, Rin! I can activate it! It recognized me as Mokuren, so I can take us all home as soon as Haruhiko is better!"

Rin was astounded. He hadn't remembered anything about a transporter. If what Alice said were true, then he could send her back before Hinagiku and the others even noticed anything was wrong. His mind whirled. He'd send Enju and Shusuran back, too. And Shukkaido, as soon as he was able. That left just himself, Gyokuran, and Hiiragi to fight, but their odds would be better if they didn't have to protect those who couldn't help.

"What a fortunate discovery." A cold voice interrupted Rin's attempt to answer her. Hinagiku stepped into the room, looking darkly at Rin before focusing his gaze onto Alice. "But my dear Mokuren, I thought we had a deal. In return for your safety, you weren't supposed to remember anything." He shot a quick glance at Rin. "It was for the safety of you and your friends. Certainly you haven't remembered anything else to go along with this latest revelation, have you?"

The need to protect her made Rin impulsive. He ran through the tall grasses to place himself between Alice and Hinagiku. "Leave her alone," he yelled, knowing he sounded like a little kid, but not able to help it.

Alice surprised him by putting her hands on his shoulders and moving him out of the way. "I know who you are, Kiku," she said steadily, stepping a fraction closer to Hinagiku. "You're nothing but a phony--a Sarjalian who couldn't make it on his own so he had to steal his mentor's identity. Mokuren would say that you're pretty pathetic, and I think everyone in this research station would agree."

Rin was shocked. Alice didn't talk that way even to her own brother. She sounded like Mokuren. He'd been waiting a lifetime to hear that voice again, but now, in this situation, it was the last thing he wanted.

Outrage and flickering confusion sparked in Hinagiku's eyes. "I warned you," the Sarjalian said matter-of-factly, grabbing Alice's arm. The watering can dropped with a wet clatter at their feet. He pulled her closer, cupping her cheek with one hand. Alice looked terrified. "I would've let you live, Mokuren. I would've protected you from the others, if you'd only listened to me." The man slid a strand of her long hair between his fingers. "Beauty is a valid bargaining tool," he almost whispered. "Don't you realize the power you could hold over men like me?"

Alice's eyes filled with tears, but she surprised Rin by blinking them back. "I'd rather be dead," she assured Hinagiku in a firm voice, "than have anything to do with you!"

Hinagiku laughed. "Ah, that's the spunk I remember. It's always better when they're feisty, isn't it, Shion?" He turned his smirking eyes to Rin.

Rin's stomach lurched--he felt like all the wind had been knocked out of him. He stumbled back helplessly, not able to summon the fury that comment deserved. It was true--he was no better than this monster.

The Sarjalian continued. "You wanted to steal her power, didn't you?" he taunted. "You wanted to make her cry and beg and still wake up without the goddess's favor. Were you disappointed?" He pushed Alice's bangs away with one hand, revealing the deep red of a Kitche on her forehead. "Were you disgusted that you hadn't changed a thing?"

"I loved her!" Shion's rage pushed past Rin's guilt, focusing into hot pain behind his eyes. "Mokuren kept her Kitche because Sarjalim knew that. She believed in us and loved us."

"Rin!" Alice twisted and squirmed in the older man's grasp, but he didn't release her.

Hinagiku laughed; it was a bitter, nasty sound. Rin wanted to leap at him, to yank Alice from his grip and slowly break every bone in his body. But he was too small. He also knew that, as a Sarjalian, Hinagiku was at least twice as powerful as him, and though he was willing to risk his own life, he couldn't do anything that might jeopardize Alice.

"Stupid boy! Sarjalian chastity is a myth! There is no Sarjalim! Our genes, not some all-powerful goddess, decide our abilities! The whole point of guaranteeing a Sarjalian's virginity was too keep their dominant genes from creating a super race of powerful beings."

Rin closed his eyes, trying not to hear, trying not to believe the logic in the other man's argument.

He'd thought it was a miracle.

"I'm sorry to shatter your illusions." Hinagiku's voice was hard with laughter. He slid an arm around Alice's waist, pulling her entire body against his. She clenched her eyes closed, pushing hard against his chest. Hinagiku looked at Rin over Alice's head. He smirked.

"No!" Rin stepped forward, his hands already tingling with fighting energy. "I'm not a coward who hides behind a woman," he taunted. "If you were any kind of man you'd let her go and fight me."

The Sarjalian seemed to consider this. He arched his brow, summing Rin up as an opponent. Rin knew he had the upper hand at first, since Hinagiku would underestimate his power because of his size. If he could surprise him from the outset, they'd have a chance. "Let her go and fight me," he repeated.

Hinagiku pushed Alice away; she fell against a table and slid to the ground. Rin glanced at her to assure himself that she was okay. She looked stunned, but her eyes were open and she returned his look. Rin turned his attention to his enemy.

Hinagiku gathered his energy. In what seemed like slow motion, Hinagiku released a burst of brilliant white fire from his hands. Rin dodged easily, rolling beneath the blast and back to his feet, even as the fire scorched the wall behind him, shriveling the plants into twisted black ash. Before the man could pull into a defensive stance, Rin was reacting. His mind scooped up all the tiny rocks and broken tiles scattered throughout the room and he flung them, high speed, at Hinagiku.

A few hit their mark, leaving long cuts along the alien's arms and face, but a sudden burst of gunfire made Rin lose his concentration. At the same moment a burning pain tore across his upper arm. His missiles fell, harmless, to the floor as he spun to identify the shooter. Nadeshiko stood panting in the doorway, a handgun clenched in her fists.

"Rin!" Alice screamed.

Rin looked down, searching for the source of the pain. His arm was bloody; long streams of red leaked from his bicep and down to his wrist. He had no idea he could bleed so much. He was shocked at the sight of it, at the warmth of it as it drenched the long sleeve of his shirt.

"You destroyed everything, you stupid brat!" Nadeshiko snarled, her weapon trained on Rin. She crossed the room in a few long strides and looked up at Hinagiku. "My lab was ransacked. All of my samples, my data--it's all gone.

"How in Sarjalim's name did you let that happen?" Hinagiku's voice was cold. He shoved Nadeshiko away from him, disgust making his handsome face vulgar. She slipped on the wet tile and fell, her pistol clattering to the floor next to her. She landed awkwardly, crying out and grabbing the leg she'd fallen upon. Hinagiku leaned over her, his hands gripping air.

Nadeshiko yelped again, trying to shield her leg from his telekinetic squeeze. "I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely, her face going white. "I have backup. I memorized the formulas--I can make more."

Rin had no idea what they were talking about, but it sounded to him like Jinpachi or one of the others had stumbled upon another element in the plan to take the planet. The idea gave him hope, but at the moment it was hard to concentrate on anything but the burning throb of his left arm and Alice's steady sobbing.

He had to stop this. Internally, he called on Shion. Shion had given him the strength to fight Tamura and Mikuro the year before. He'd given him the strength to teleport with broken bones and internal bleeding. Though his body was weaker now, Rin needed the power to fight. He needed to protect Alice.

Rin took advantage of Hinagiku's diverted attention. He concentrated on forming a thin rope of air pressure, moving it with his mind until it encircled the young man's neck. With a quick thought, the pressure tightened, immediately choking the Sarches. Hinagiku stiffened, his hands grasping for the invisible vice at his throat. His eyes went wide and he looked at Rin in shock. For a long moment Rin felt satisfied, watching the man's face turn red and then purple with asphyxiation.

"Let him go," Nadeshiko screamed from her place on the floor, dragging herself across the tile to reach her fallen weapon. Rin was amazed that the woman would be so loyal to a man who'd obviously broken her leg. He tightened his hold on Hinagiku, taking a sort of pleasure in the feeling of the man's breath being squeezed out of him. It didn't cross his mind that Nadeshiko would really reach her pistol until he heard the familiar crack and felt a zing of air past his ear.

His hold on Hinagiku's throat slackened as he unconsciously shifted his attention to the blonde woman. In another instant he was on the floor, his whole body vibrating with residual energy. His ears were ringing and seemed damp with blood or water. Rin didn't know what kind of power Hinagiku had at his disposal, but evidently he'd just faced a blast head-on.

Alice was yelling. At first that was all he was aware of. The stun from the blow made his head spin, and he felt like his whole body was on fire. Hinagiku must have recovered instantaneously. Rin opened his eyes. Alice was on top of Nadeshiko, clawing at the woman's hands as she tried to pry the gun from her fingers.

"Al-lice," he croaked, his parched throat burning. She was going to get herself killed, fighting an armed woman like that, but Rin didn't seem to have the power to stop her.

His body lifted into the air, and Rin shook the fuzziness from his brain. Though no one's hands were touching him, Hinagiku was controlling him. Rin expanded his mental self, trying to break the man's hold. He'd never lost a fight before, and this one was too important not to win. He tried to teleport away from Hinagiku. Somehow the Sarjalian's grip prevented that.

"Put him down, you bastard!" Rin didn't have to look to recognize Daisuke. Another gunshot cracked the air.

Rin crashed to the ground. Hinagiku stood over him, a psychic shield protecting him from Daisuke's shots. The man's red hair flared around him, his eyes narrowed to pinpoints as he glared at the young captain. Rin suddenly understood. As long as Daisuke continued to shoot, Hinagiku couldn't attack.

"Shoot again!" he yelled, pulling himself up and out of the way. A wave of dizziness swept over him as he stood. This would have to end quickly. He was losing too much blood. He hoped Daisuke's gun had a lot of ammunition. Daisuke squeezed off two more shots, both of which fell uselessly to the floor at Hinagiku's feet, but the older boy seemed to understand. As long as his friend could distract the Sarches, Rin could help Alice.

But before Rin could reach the struggling women, another form burst past him with a yell. Sakura barreled into Alice, knocking her aside long enough to smack the gun from Nadeshiko's grip. The girl gripped a broom in her hands, clumsily wielding it like a martial arts staff. Issei was quick on her heels, scooping up the pistol and aiming it at Nadeshiko while Sakura hurried to check on Alice. Issei's hands shook, but his eyes were cold and determined. He talked to his old friend in a low voice.

Alice was okay. Rin trusted Issei and Sakura to make sure no harm would come to her.

Daisuke shot off his last round. The pistol clicked uselessly as he desperately pulled the trigger for more. He looked at Rin, panicked. Hinagiku took advantage of the opening. He roared with fury, throwing a blast of white energy at the defenseless teenager--in another moment, Daisuke fell uselessly against the wall, unconscious, his nose bleeding.

Rin felt Shion's rage brimming over. With the force of a professional pitcher, he flung small balls of his own power at Hinagiku, pounding him with a storm of blue fire. The Sarches blocked a few, but most of them hit their marks, tearing and burning his skin. Rin gritted his teeth--his left arm was getting weak and useless.

Hinagiku closed his eyes, breathing deeply and suddenly still. Rin paused, taken aback, then suddenly realized his mistake. Before he could brace for the return blast, Hinagiku's eyes popped open, blazing with gold light as he summoned a huge golden fireball.

Rin stumbled back, falling against the wall. He couldn't die now. For the first time since Mokuren died, Shion wanted to live. Rin could feel the man's consciousness rising in his body, and for the first time in over a year, he yielded to it. Shion howled, lighting the smoke-filled room with a fiery blue shield. Hinagiku's chi blast sizzled and crackled against the shield. Rin felt the world spinning out of control and he fought the darkness that threatened to blank out his mind. He thought of Alice. Shion thought of Mokuren. They hung on. The shield flickered and held until Hinagiku's energy blast dissipated altogether.

But Rin felt Hinagiku's strength just below the surface of this attack--there was no way he'd survive.

Suddenly, the Sarjalian's body crashed against a cart of flowers. Potshards and severed plants showered to the floor around him, coating his white tunic with a fine black dust.

Rin twisted his head, relieved to see Jinpachi's cocky grin. "Thought you might need some back up," the teenager said, smirking.

Rin smiled weakly. "Th-Thanks." He took a moment to tear the sleeve from his shirt, using his teeth to wrap it as a makeshift tourniquet around his throbbing upper arm. He was grateful for Daisuke's relationship with Ayame--he would need a doctor if they got through this alive.

Together, they faced Hinagiku. Jinpachi didn't have the power to make chi blasts, but his force could hold Hinagiku still or send him flying--whichever was required. With his help, Rin pummeled. He watched as his energy burned the alien's hair, tore his skin and clothes. He tried to break Hinagiku's bones, but the Sarches could still block, still protect himself against Rin's attacks.

Rin almost didn't notice when the alien changed his strategy. He almost didn't see the way Hinagiku's eyes flicked away from his to look at Jinpachi. "Ogura!" he yelled, but it was already too late. The boy's body lifted like a doll's, and Rin saw his friend's eyes widen in panic before the Sarches mentally threw him to the ground.

He didn't move. "Jinpachi! Gyokuran, get up!" Issei and Sakura were screaming.

Rin realized he was alone. He was scratched and burned. His left arm was completely useless and his legs felt like rubber. Rin fought against the dizziness that threatened to consume him. For the first time, he considered what it might mean to lose. He thought of Haruhiko and his still, pale face, of Jinpachi and Daisuke, both unconscious and possibly dead. Issei, Sakura, and Alice were okay, but they were weak in a fight. He shuddered to think of what Hinagiku would do to them--to Alice--if Rin couldn't beat him.

"You can't win this, brat," the Sarjalian taunted, flinging his hair out of his eyes and walking toward Rin.

Rin stood his ground. He'd beaten Haru and Mikuro together. He'd driven Tamura's kid into an almost catatonic panic. He'd survived alone for nine years. He could do this.

A sudden blinding pain stabbed him from inside his own mind. Rin grabbed his head, screaming. From far away, he heard Hinagiku laughing. "Stupid kid," the Sarches commented dryly, "don't go up against a Sarjalian without knowing what he can do to you." Rin tried to block out the pain, but everything he tried made it worse. It was as if every blood vessel in his brain were about to explode--a million aneurysms at once. He couldn't even think; he heard the squealing sound of an animal dying, but he couldn't tell it came from him.

"NO! STOP!" A sobbing voice came behind the pain. She begged. She screamed.

Alice.

Suddenly a flash of light burned so bright that Rin could see it behind his clenched eyelids. The voice changed to a keening song--high and painful. Then it was over. Hinagiku's hold lifted from his mind.

Rin had a moment of painless relief before everything slipped away.

Mikuro had been ignoring the sounds of battle from the observation room. He told himself that he didn't care what happened to any of them--as long as Haru was okay and able to go home with him, that was all he had time to worry about. He sat with his back against the door to the infirmary, his legs stretched on the cold, hard tile.

It'd been hours and he ached all over. He was scared. Logically, he knew that if Ayame had trouble, if something unexpected happened during Haru's operation, she'd come out and say so. No news is good news, as his brother always said. But Hokuto never had to sit outside while the life of someone he loved swung in the balance.

Someone he loved. It had been a long, long time since he'd been able to think in those terms. He was almost too afraid to think it now--if Haruhiko died, what would it matter how he felt about him? Mikuro's whole body shook.

The noises of the fight intensified. Mikuro thought he could hear Shusuran screaming. She was a good kid; his body tensed, wanting to go to her, but his mind prevailed, stubborn. Kasama Haruhiko was his only priority. Some kind of blast shook the walls, making the lights blink out for an instant. From inside the room, he heard Ayame curse.

Mikuro was on his feet, peering through the window. He watched Ayame frantically flip switches, evidently turning on everything that shut down in the power surge. He pounded on the glass. "Let me help!"

She shook her head, her eyes sharp above the surgical mask.

Damn. Mikuro turned away, sighing. It was crazy, the way he trusted that woman enough to obey her. This powerlessness was killing him.

A high-pitched scream yanked his attention away from the young doctor and the operation she was performing. Mokuren.

Before he realized his reaction, Mikuro was running down the long corridor. It was one thing to let the others blow themselves to pieces, but he liked Sakaguchi Alice. She was strong and loyal and really cared about what happened to Haru. That alone earned his devotion.

Just before he reached the observation room, a blinding flash of white light burst through the doors. Mikuro ducked, closing his eyes and shielding his face with his arms. For a moment he thought he heard a voice, a powerful voice singing in a language he didn't know, but then it stopped, and the corridor was quiet.

Mikuro tentatively looked around. The doors to the garden room were broken, and papery rubble drifted from the ceiling like a dusting of snow. He stood slowly and picked his way into the room, afraid of what he'd find.

The first thing he noticed was the body. The broken form of what was once Hinagiku lay impaled on some sort of stake. His eyes were wide and shocked--Mikuro had to look away as his stomach lurched in horrified reaction.

A whimper in the opposite corner pulled his attention from the gory scene. The boy, Enju, lay sprawled across Shusuran and Nadeshiko--it was clear he'd thrown himself over them to protect them from the blast. The back of his shirt was torn open and soaked in blood. The women were starting to shift beneath him, Shusuran crying softly and wrapping her arms gingerly around the boy's shoulders. He lifted his head and gave her a weak smile.

Gyokuran and Hiiragi were struggling to their feet--the first with an obviously broken arm and the captain sporting a nasty slash across his forehead. They leaned on each other, flinching and staggering, but tenaciously alive.

But Mokuren? Mikuro scanned the room again, searching for the girl he'd come to rescue. At first he saw nothing but plants and burnt rubble, but a soft sound made him look closer. She was lying, almost prone, beneath the sheltering arms of a large fern. At first he thought she was crying, but as he hurried closer, he made out her frantic whisper.

"Please be alive. Please be alive. Dear God, please let him live."

Mikuro pulled her up by the shoulder, anxiously checking her for wounds. She looked almost completely unscathed. The boy she'd been sheltering with her body, however, hadn't fared so well.

He wasn't moving, not even to breathe, and his face had taken on a strange paleness that belied any hope of life. His whole body was scratched and torn; a horrifying wound on his shoulder had leaked more blood than Mikuro thought could be in a kid that size.

"He's okay!" Mokuren cried desperately. "Once he wakes up, he'll be fine!" Her voice was weak and her body shook with tremors. Mikuro gently moved her aside.

He leaned over Shion's narrow chest, listening for a heartbeat even as his fingers searched for a pulse. He couldn't hear anything. He opened the boy's mouth, automatically checking for blockage before beginning CPR. Shion's lips were cool--almost cold beneath his. Mokuren started to cry as Mikuro pushed the young boy's chest. The kid was so small, not at all the formidable enemy he had faced the year before.

"It's not working," Enju's voice was cracked and full of pain. "Try something else!"

Mikuro didn't stop his rhythmic pressure. There wasn't anything else to try.

Enju wasn't satisfied. The boy leaned close over Mikuro's shoulder. Mikuro could feel the dampness of his breath and tears. "Damn it," Enju cried helplessly. "Try some other way!"

"There is no other way." Mikuro thought it was the captain's quiet answer. He was barely listening, concentrating every nerve on the still child on the floor. For Mokuren, he had to do this. He had to make this work.

"What about electricity?" Shusuran chimed in behind Enju, her voice unnaturally high. "We don't have paddles, but Jinpachi could--"

"I'd kill him! I--I don't have that kind of control."

But Mikuro did. He didn't know if it would work, but it was clear that CPR was getting nowhere. He swung his arms out, motioning for everyone to move back. Everyone did except Mokuren, and he could hardly force the sobbing girl to move. He closed his eyes, nervous. He'd never used his gift this way. He'd never focused such a small bit at such a tiny target as this boy's heart.

He pulled the electricity from his mind, from his own heart, from the blood flowing through his veins. He felt it, hot and blue, coursing through his arms to his fingers. Mikuro tore open Rin's shirt, pressing his hands flat over the boy's chest. He tightened his control until his head felt like it would burst--there was no way he'd let himself fry this kid's organs while trying to save him.

He squeezed his eyes closed and let go.

The kid jerked beneath his hands--at first with the force of the electricity and then in a spastic coughing fit. Shion gasped, his eyes fluttering open for a split second as he sucked in a deep breath of air.

"Rin! Oh Rin, thank God!" Mokuren crumpled to the ground, covering her face with her hands.

The boy's breathing continued--raspy and weak but steady. Mikuro let out a sigh that sounded a lot like a sob.

"I'll tell Ayame and get a bed set up!" Hiiragi was out the door before anyone else could react.

Mikuro stood up on shaky legs and scooped Shion up in his arms. He was uneasy about his success, not sure if he'd done the right thing--maybe the kid would've been better off if he'd kept trying the CPR. Broken ribs could be fixed--overdoses of electricity to the heart were trickier.

Ayame would know what to do.


	13. Chapter 13

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

Saturday, Day 13 

Haruhiko was aware of a distinct lack of pain. His chest, his head, his stomach--nothing hurt. In his experience, that could mean only two things. Either he was back in the hospital, pumped full of painkillers, or he was dead.

He tried his eyes. They seemed to work, but the light was too bright. His mouth felt cottony and thick. He blinked again; still too bright, but this time with dark shapes.

"Haru?"

The voice was familiar.

"Haru?"

Its tone was frantic.

He suddenly felt pressure on his hand. Someone was squeezing it, hard. Haruhiko tried to shake the fuzziness from his mind. The hospital option seemed the way to go. "Tamura?" he asked slowly, his tongue awkward in his mouth.

"Thank God, Haruhiko," the voice murmured. A head of floppy fair hair fell against his arm. Fair hair? Not Tamura, then.

"Shukkaido."

That cleared the haze from his brain right away. He opened his eyes completely, forcing them to focus in the brightness. He was in a hospital, but it wasn't like any he'd ever seen--in this lifetime. A familiar figure leaned over him, her smiling face framed in short dark hair. "Ayame?" he asked in disbelief.

"That's right," she said, adjusting the I.V. drip. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

Haru thought hard. Mikuro. He looked at the fair head slumped next to him. "Mikuro?" he asked hesitantly, reaching a hand to touch the hair. "That's you?"

The older boy lifted his head, seemingly unaware of the tears that filled his deep purple eyes. "Yeah, Kid," he whispered in a ragged voice. "It's good to see you."

The memory of the last few days flooded Haruhiko. The premonitions. Tokyo Tower. He struggled to sit up. "We're on the moon, right?" he asked. "Did everyone make it here okay? Did I pass out? Where is everybody?"

Mikuro looked helplessly at Ayame, surprising Haru with their familiarity. How long had he been unconscious? Had something happened? "What is it?"

Ayame smiled, smoothing Haru's hair even as she urged him to lie down. "All of your friends are fine. You've been asleep for a few days," she explained carefully. "Your heart was heavily damaged during your trip from Earth, but I've been taking care of you." She exchanged a look with Mikuro. "Do you remember much of the technology of our home world?"

He shook his head. Right now he barely remembered anything. His fingers were twined in Mikuro's and he gave his friend a squeeze. This was frightening—what did she mean by "heavily damaged?"

"I made you a new heart, Kasama Haruhiko," she assured him. "Even as we speak, it's beating strongly and healthily inside of you. There's no reason why you can't recover fully."

"Really?" Haru almost didn't believe it. "You fixed me?" He looked at Ayame, that beautiful face that had lingered in Shukkaido's memories for so long. She had always looked out for him, even in their training. It seemed almost surreal that she would be the one to be taking care of him now.

Mikuro let out a ragged breath and dropped his forehead back against the bed. "You almost died," he scolded, his voice colored with exhaustion. "And I couldn't do anything about it." He looked up, his eyes darkened with anger and worn frustration. "You scared the hell out of me."

Before Haru could answer, Ayame stepped away. She gathered a jumble of equipment onto a cart and headed toward the door. "I'll leave you two to catch up," she said cheerfully, but Haru noticed the way her eyes darted nervously into the other room. "Mikuro can answer any questions, I think." Then she was gone.

"What was that about?" Haruhiko asked as soon as the door swung shut. "Where is everybody?"

His friend pressed his mouth into a thin line and looked hopelessly up to the ceiling. "There was a fight," he began, not meeting Haru's eyes. "Everyone's going to be okay," he assured him quickly, "but right now he's having a tough time."

"Who?" Haruhiko struggled again to sit up. "Who's having a tough time?"

"Shion."

Rin's body was bandaged from head to toe. Daisuke studied him from his place on the cot, sitting up slowly to keep the dizziness down. Ayame said he had a concussion. He reached up and touched the bandage wrapped around his crown. He didn't remember falling.

Rin was badly burned and scratched. His singed eyelashes rested on cheeks scraped raw and his lips were cracked and stained with dried blood. Other than his face, there seemed to be little enough of him that wasn't covered in bandages; his left arm had been stitched up and slid into a sling to keep it still. Worst of all was his head--it had been shaved to keep it cool, but Ayame had no way of knowing how much damage Hinagiku had inflicted. Rin hadn't regained consciousness yet, and though the doctor hadn't said either way, Daisuke knew that no one was certain he ever would.

He looked tiny. Daisuke realized how much he'd relied on him--this little, nine-year-old kid who should've never left the protection of his parents--and he felt more than a little ashamed. "To think, the kid wanted to come up here on his own," he said to no one in particular.

Jinpachi looked up, frowning sadly. His own arm was in a sling as well--broken in two places. "I can't believe that we almost let him," he said thickly. He sat next to Sakura on the cot that would belong to Issei, once the doctor was finished with him.

"We didn't," Issei reminded them with a grimace. Ayame was stitching the last major wound. His back had bled profusely, a dozen cuts stained more than one towel dark red as they waited for the more serious injuries to be tended. "We came with him--all of us."

They fell silent again. Even after all the excitement, there didn't seem to be much else to say. The earth was safe. They were all alive and well--well enough--but at the expense of the one they should've protected.

Alice sat in a chair close to Rin's bed, her dark head bent close to his ear. It looked like she was singing softly, never mind that the boy's eardrums were probably ruptured. No one stopped her. She hadn't said a word for hours, other than the quiet murmurings that Daisuke couldn't hear.

He'd failed. Both as a captain and as a human being, he'd failed. If he'd only gotten to the atrium sooner, or if he'd conserved bullets so that he could've been of help longer. Hiiragi would've never let a child come on such a dangerous mission. The whole venture was flawed from the start.

And now what? Did they just bring Ayame and Nadeshiko down to Earth with them? Nadeshiko was currently convalescing in another room--recovering from a broken leg and a seriously broken psyche. Would she even be able to cope with life on Earth? Daisuke had spoken with her only briefly after the battle, but she seemed swallowed by guilt and lost love.

To be perfectly honest, Daisuke wasn't even sure any of them would be able to get home. Without Rin, they'd stand no chance at teleportation, even if Haruhiko recovered fully and was able to carry others. They were all drained and exhausted--and starting tomorrow, their parents would notice them missing. That was the least of their worries, but it was still a big one.

"Daisuke." He hadn't even noticed that Ayame had finished with Issei. She sat on his cot, close enough that her hip pressed against his arm. She leaned near, keeping her voice low. "I need your advice as captain," she began. "I can't help Rin. I have the medical know-how, but not the ability. He needs a Sarches, preferably a Sarches doctor."

His eyes widened. "Shukkaido?" he asked incredulously. His eyes darted over her shoulder to see if the others overheard. No. Good. "But there's no way he's well enough . . . ."

"I know."

A silence fell between them and Daisuke understood her difficulty. If Haru was the only one who could save Rin, but doing so might kill Haru, what could they do?

"I do have an idea, but I don't know if it will work." She went on in a hurried whisper, describing the chemical properties of the regeneration hormone used in RGCs and organ tanks. "It speeds up the life cycle on a cellular level," she explained, "forcing cells to mature and split--therefore _to heal--_at an astronomical rate. It's never been used for this kind of medicine before; a few drops too much and the bone or skin surpasses healing and begins aging."

She knit her brows together. "I don't know how to fix the dosage, though, even if we were to try it. Those kind of simulations were Nadeshiko's area of expertise, and she's in no shape to help us."

Now Daisuke smiled. For the first time that day, he had a helpful solution. "Shusuran," he called, summoning her from her spot next to Issei. "Ayame has a task for you."

The doctor explained the situation and gave Sakura a couple of samples of the fluid. "Run the sims on both bone and tissue data. The sooner we get everyone mended, the sooner you get to go home. You can use Nadeshiko's lab."

Sakura grinned. "I have my own lab; I work better in familiar places." She gave Daisuke a mock-salute and left, pausing only to say goodbye to Jinpachi and Issei.

"You never cease to amaze me," Ayame said in a low voice, leaning close to kiss Daisuke below his ear.

"Me?" The young man almost laughed. "You're the most amazing woman I've ever met." He squeezed her hand in both of his. "You're coming back to Japan with us, of course. Nadeshiko, too."

Ayame smiled softly. "I hope the others agree with you." She touched his face, her fingers resting just beside his mouth. "I don't know what I'm going to do when it's time to say goodbye to you."

"Then don't." He moved her hand to his lips. "I'll introduce you to my parents. You could stay with me."

"Uh-oh, this feels serious," she murmured playfully, only her eyes giving away her very real anxiety.

Daisuke wanted to kiss her, but settled for touching her hair. "It is," he promised in a low voice. "It's definitely serious."

As he watched Sakura leave the room, a realization hit Jinpachi. Outwardly, nothing had changed; she'd wished them both speedy recoveries and promised to be in later to check on them. She hadn't laid a hand on Issei--not even a finger--but Jinpachi could tell.

"You and Sakura, huh?" he asked after the door closed behind her. His chest was tight.

Issei looked up at him, surprise evident on his face. "How did you know?"

He rubbed an itch on his nose. "It's kinda obvious, the way you look at her," he answered. He didn't want to explain the unspoken vibe, the definite game of not-touching that they'd played in that last moment. "Besides, isn't that what you were getting at the other day?"

For a while Issei didn't answer. Quite a few times since that day, Jinpachi had mulled over their conversation. After a year of being confused about Issei's emotions, it was strange to find himself in the opposite position. It wasn't pleasant, being rejected--even when he wasn't sure why he confessed in the first place.

"This place messes with your head," Issei said softly, following the flow of his thoughts. "I figured things out only when I realized how strong Enju is while I'm here. It became very clear to me, which things she wanted; that helped me sort out what _I_ wanted."

What he wanted . . . . Jinpachi's gaze drifted across the room, where Alice sat huddled next to Rin's unmoving form. Once he'd yelled at her about that kid, railing on her about what constituted real love. He realized now that he'd known nothing. The bond between Alice and Rin went deeper than just reincarnation--it sure as hell beat out the longing of an unrequited love from a lifetime ago. Just the same, when he looked at Issei, he didn't see the face of a woman his alter ego may or may not have cared for; he saw the guy who had been his best friend since the eighth grade.

It was as though Gyokuran's hold on his heart had slipped, just because he'd taken a direct look at the emotions for the first time.

"I think it'll work, you know," Jinpachi said suddenly, "between you and Sakura."

Issei smiled. "Thanks."

"And hey," there was one other thing that needed mentioning. "We're gonna forget all about that discussion in the capsule room, right? That was all Gyokuran, not me."

Issei's gaze softened. "Sure," he conceded gently. "You can't be blamed for what Gyokuran made you feel, right?"

And Jinpachi knew it was an apology for the previous year, for the muddled friendship they'd waded through these past months. "Right."

_Bee-bip, bee-bip, bee-bip . . . . _

Haruhiko opened his eyes and pressed the button that quieted the alarm on his wristwatch. It wasn't very late, only half-past eleven, but he'd had a hunch that everyone would be asleep. They all seemed a few steps beyond exhausted that afternoon.

So far, it looked as though he were correct. Mikuro was fast asleep, still in his chair beside the bed. He rested his head his arms, his arms on the mattress beside Haru. Across the room, Ayame was curled up on her cot. She wasn't a sound sleeper, he remembered, so he took extra pains to stay silent.

Closing his eyes, he thought about Rin and concentrated. His sense of self seemed to dissolve, and the world went shimmery-white around him, but an instant later he was back. Only this time, he was in another room.

He stood perfectly still in the dark room, surveying his surroundings. It was another hospital room, this one looking like it was once an office. Cots lined the walls, and in the middle of the space was a bed just like the one he'd just left. Rin lay motionless, looking too small on the adult bed.

Haru crept closer, ignoring the pain that seared the stitched-up incision down his chest. He'd had surgeries before; he could handle pain.

Just then he noticed Alice. She was asleep on the cot nearest Rin, her arm stretched out so that her fingers could curl around his sheets. Mokuren's Kitche gleamed on her forehead, looking as natural as if she'd been born with it. He couldn't imagine the raw power that must have surged through her the day before, but he was in awe of it. Few people ever saw a Kichess in her terrible glory; their work tended to be peaceful and gentle.

He looked at Rin's still body. He looked small and broken, his shaved head pale even against the white bandages. Haru checked the monitors and machinery hooked up to the boy. His pulse was weak, his breath shallow.

It was a miracle that Ayame had managed to stabilize him; any other doctor would've certainly failed. Sakura had given him a rundown of the fight, down to the last moments when Rin clutched at his head and screamed. Issei had added the astounding bit about Alice's rage destroying the garden and killing Hinagiku. Mikuro had told him about Rin's stopped heart, and the CPR that hadn't worked.

The brain wave monitor sketched faint patterns--proof enough that Rin was still alive somewhere deep within his brain, beneath the tangle of receptors and nerves. Haru hoped it was someplace painless.

It was time for atonement. After all those years, Haru was finally able to give Shion something that might begin to make up for the misery he'd forced upon him. It would be tricky--almost twenty-five years had passed since Shukkaido had first read of the technique in school. Doctors on the mother planet rarely resorted to it, claiming that the success rate was too low to warrant the risk to the doctor.

Haruhiko couldn't think like that. He closed his eyes, resting his fingertips on Rin's stubbly scalp. There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of damaged connections just beneath the surface, a multitude of sparks that weren't linking. All he had to do was find them and, one-by-one, mend each break.

The power and control this required was phenomenal. Haru's hands shook; he pushed down the fear and focused. He called on his power, stretching it into fine threads and channeling it through his fingers. His jaw clenched. His chest throbbed. Beads of sweat broke out over his forehead. Sparks seemed to flicker behind his eyelids and he felt as though he were underwater--pressure on all sides squeezing against him.

It hurt. He ignored the pain, focusing all of his attention on Shion. Rin. Haruhiko was afraid to move a muscle. It hurt like hell. He gasped; his whole body was burning. Dizzy.

He didn't know how long he'd been working--minutes or hours, it made no difference to him. His energy faltered, flickering and fading. He opened his eyes to see the room swim before him, then fade into peaceful darkness.

Alice woke with a start, opening her eyes just in time to see Haruhiko crumple to the floor on the other side of Rin's bed. "Doctor!" she called, jumping from her cot. "Yakushimaru!"

She knelt beside the fallen boy, wiping his clammy face with her hands. "Hurry!" she yelled, glancing at the open door. His skin was cold and drained of color. His hands, though, felt hot to the touch. Alice leaned close to his mouth, listening. "He's breathing, but I don't know what happened!"

Mikuro arrived first, sliding to the ground next to Alice. In a moment, just as the doctor was turning on the lights, he had the boy in his arms and was moving him to a cot. "What in hell have you been doing, Kid?" Alice heard him mumble beneath his breath.

Ayame listened to his heart and checked his other vitals. "He fainted," she told them quietly. She shook her head. "Otherwise, he seems exhausted, but okay. Do either of you know what he was doing here?"

They both shook their heads. "He right next to Rin when he fell," Alice offered, trying to be helpful, "but I don't know what he was doing. I was sleeping."

Ayame's brow knit for a moment, then she grasped Haruhiko's hands. "Normal," she verified, sighing. "Well, at least we know it's not--"

"They were burning up when I first touched him," Alice interjected. Her voice shook and she took a deep breath to steady it. She tried to get a grasp on her nerves, reminding herself that Ayame said Haru was all right. It wouldn't do any good if _she _fainted, too.

The doctor reacted quickly, jumping to her feet and crossing the small room to Rin's bedside. "I don't believe it," she murmured, looking at the monitors. She picked up the boy's tiny wrist and checked his pulse. "Incredible."

What could it be? Alice's heart was racing. "Is he okay?" she asked worriedly. She peered over Ayame's shoulder. Her stomach lurched. Rin's face, which had been pale and lifeless all day, had somehow taken on a faint blush, a tinge of pink that made him look normal. His mouth was open slightly as he breathed, and for the first time in hours, his lips looked moist and healthy.

"He has his color back, and his breathing and pulse are strong." Ayame glanced at the screen that monitored brain activity. "REM sleep. His brain seems to be functioning normally again."

Alice's knees wobbled, almost giving out completely. "Thank God," she whispered, falling into the chair next to the bed. A few times during the course of that dark day, she had almost given up hope. She had begged and prayed until she couldn't think of another thing to barter. She sang until her throat hurt, whispered until her jaw ached, held on to his fingers until her own were numb. "How?" she asked Ayame softly, almost afraid of the answer.

"Shukkaido." Her voice was quiet, filled with respect and awe. "It was a very risky procedure, and he wasn't in any shape to try it. He could've died."

A lump formed in Alice's throat. It made sense; Haruhiko had always been preoccupied with his guilt over Shion. He was trying to make amends. "Thank you," Alice whispered, gazing at Haru's peaceful face.

She was just about to ask Ayame for more information about how Haru had been able to help Rin, when suddenly the boy stirred. Alice jumped, grasping his small hand. Not so small, she realized with a start--just about the same size as hers. His eyelashes fluttered and a small moan escaped his lips.

"Rin?" She pressed her palm against his. "Rin, can you hear me?"

He blinked. His eyes were drowsy. "Al-lice," he whispered, his gaze finding her face. "I was scared."

A sob broke in her throat. "Oh, Rin, you don't have to be scared anymore."

He shook his head slowly. "I thought I died. I couldn't protect you." Alice tried to hush him, but he continued anyway. "I heard you singing and thought you'd died, too. But I couldn't find you."

Tears were streaming down Alice's face now. "We're both okay, Rin. You don't have to talk anymore." She put her arms around him and leaned her head next to his. "No one died," she promised him.

"I know." Rin looked at her, his eyes wide. "I was lost. I couldn't find you, but Shukkaido found me." A trembling smile came across his lips. "Shukkaido saved me."


	14. Chapter 14

CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

Sunday, Day 14: Epilogue 

Haruhiko waited with the others in the small, strange chamber. He was still trying to piece together the events of the past few days, trying to understand that everything in his life had changed, and yet it would still go on exactly as before. He could feel his own pulse in his chest, and for the first time in his life, the sound didn't frighten him.

The faces of the others reflected what he felt--a mixture of confusion and elation. It was as though they had all finally put to rest the memories of Shukkaido, Shusuran, Enju, and Gyokuran. Of Mokuren, Shion, and Hiiragi. The seven of them at last stood as complete people, finally able to sort out which emotions belonged to themselves and which needed to be left in the past.

Daisuke was the last one to get settled into his place. "In forty minutes," he said quietly, "this whole moon base will self-destruct." He looked agitated, and Haru understood. This place had caused them a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of painful memories, but it was still special. Destroying it meant moving on--permanently.

A hand on his shoulder pulled his attention away from the captain. Mikuro stood behind Haru, his pale hair flopped over his eyes, as usual. He smiled slightly, raising his eyebrows in a silent communication. Haruhiko smiled, suddenly a bit shy. Mikuro had kept a quiet vigil by his bedside the entire time. Haru wasn't sure how he was supposed to interpret such devotion, but it made him feel good.

Alice stepped up to the orb in the center of the room. Its glow seem to fracture into tendrils of light, all of them reaching toward her. The Kitche on her forehead blazed. "Is everyone ready?" she asked.

Haru glanced around the chamber.

Sakura and Issei had their arms wrapped around each other's waists. Jinpachi stood nearby, watching Alice with an eager expression. Daisuke stood across from him, next to Ayame and Nadeshiko--the alien captain still looking sad and a bit lost as she held onto her friend's hand. Rin stood near Alice, as always. They weren't as battered and cut up as they'd been just a day before--Sakura had tweaked the dosage of the growth hormone with great success--but everyone looked just a bit older, a little sadder.

Alice touched the orb with both hands, her hair blowing wildly in some phantom wind. Haruhiko glanced up at the glittering constellations that decorated the ceiling. They were so familiar. They reminded him of home.

A swirl of cool green light surrounded them, and the room faded into a pale mist.

Seconds later they were home. Alice had somehow managed to lead them to a deserted playground near the train station. The sun wasn't yet up, but the sky glowed with pre-dawn blueness. It was warm and quiet as everyone said their farewells. Sakura got emotional, hugging everyone and promising to see them all soon. Even Daisuke forgot his reserve and smiled warmly at each of them as he said goodbye.

Haruhiko watched as everyone split off into different directions. Rin slipped his hand into Alice's as they walked the short blocks to their home. Jinpachi and Issei headed another direction, and Sakura walked with Daisuke, Ayame, and Nadeshiko toward the train station.

He was almost sad, seeing them go. It wasn't as though he'd never see them again--Jinpachi had already invited everyone to meet at his house for a picnic the next Sunday--but for the first time in a very long while, Haru understood what it was like to part with friends. Just two weeks before, he thought he had only Tamura.

Mikuro pulled him away from his thoughts with a clever joke and an offer of breakfast. They walked in a companionable silence toward the nearest fast-food place. Just two weeks before, there had been only Tamura. Now he knew better.


End file.
